India 'A' stint helped: Gowtham

K Gowtham believes in staying in the present and his brilliant knock here on Sunday against Assam was a testimony to that.

Last month was a difficult one for the all-rounder. Dropped from the India ‘A’ team on disciplinary grounds, Gowtham was eager to get his career back on track in this season of the Ranji Trophy. Gowtham did begin the way he wished, bagging a four-wicket haul on Saturday that helped Karnataka skittle out Assam for 145. On the second day of the encounter, it looked like Gowtham had transferred all the confidence on to his batting.

The 28-year-old essayed an excellent counter-attacking innings to remain unbeaten on 147. Were a lot of things running in Gowtham’s mind? “Did it look like that,” he asked reporters at the end of day’s play. “I am not worrying or thinking about anything. Playing for India ‘A’ gives you a lot of confidence and that’s all it matters. I always try to take things in the right way and believe in focusing on the present,” Gowtham added.

It was Gowtham’s maiden first-class hundred and the Bengaluru player said it felt special.

“It feels great. I got a similar feeling when I had bagged my first five-wicket haul,” he remarked.

Gowtham’s dominance against the spinners was one of the highlights of the knock. “I am a decent player against spinners. I have a good reach and made the most out of it,” he offered.

In the previous edition, Gowtham had played vital cameos with the bat. The all-rounder thanked skipper R Vinay Kumar for the support. “My captain backed me and told me to go play my natural game today. I worked a lot with Vinay and CM Gautam in the off season and their guidance has helped me a lot.”