Gowtham show keeps Karnataka afloat

A one-man show from Karnataka all-rounder K Gowtham denied Tamil Nadu the advantage on the second day of their Group B opening Ranji Trophy encounter here at the NPR College ground on Tuesday.

Gowtham followed his whirlwind half-century (51b, 39b, 4x4, 4x6) with a three-wicket haul (3/61) as Karnataka, after posting 336 all out, reduced Tamil Nadu to 165/4 before bad light ended proceedings. Vijay Shankar’s men trail Karnataka by 171 runs and only have R Ashwin to come before the tail-enders.

On Wednesday, the man who could challenge Karnataka in their primary quest for an innings lead will be Dinesh Karthik. The senior batsman was unbeaten on 23 in the middle with N Jagadeesan (6) giving him company.

A largely dull day had small shares of thrill when Gowtham was in action. The off-spinning all-rounder got into thick of things as early as in the second over of the day when Shreyas Gopal edged one to the wicketkeeper to depart without adding to his overnight score of 35 (85b, 3x4, 1x6).

Gowtham, who often unsettles bowlers with his risk-taking ability, was in no mood to nudge around for singles. He fast-tracked Karnataka’s pursuit of the 300-run mark with a 52-run partnership with David Mathias (26, 62b, 4x4).

Tamil Nadu skipper Shankar missed a trick by not bringing senior man and their best bowler of the match R Ashwin into the attack till the 15th over of the day. Gowtham came down hard on the inexperienced left-arm spin duo of Sai Kishore and M Siddharth. If Siddharth was clobbered for a six over mid-wicket, Kishore saw the ball hammered straight over his head and land outside the ground. The big-hitter punished Kishore again with a slog sweep over wide long-on.

A helpless Shankar looked to Ashwin for a breakthrough. The India international showed his class by landing a twin blow to Karnataka. He broke the dangerous stand by having Mathias caught at short-leg and dismissing Ronit More caught behind off successive balls.

A player who heavily trusts his instincts, Gowtham didn’t refrain from launching Ashwin. His powerful pull powered the ball past the square-leg boundary and the entertaining knock garnered applause from the Karnataka camp when he danced down the track and smashed Ashwin for a six over long-on to reach his fifty.

The right-hander attempted to repeat his act only to see the ball land safely in the hands of Murali Vijay at long-on. Ashwin, who bowled just 10 balls and bagged three wickets, finished with impressive figures of 33.4-10-79-4.

Tamil Nadu openers were untroubled against the inexperienced Karnataka pace attack. The right-arm trio of V Koushik, Ronit More and David Mathias were far from lethal, allowing Vijay (32) and Abhinav Mukund (47) coast to 54/0 at lunch break.

Gowtham turned saviour for Karnataka once again when he trapped Vijay plumb in front. Things got from good to better for Karnataka when the well-set Mukund was dismissed caught behind by Gowtham. The off-spinner picked up his third with a touch of luck. Shankar was given out leg before wicket while playing on the backfoot. The ball appeared to have hit above the knee roll and the stunned right-hander took ages to reach the pavilion.

“Last week was hectic. After the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, I got married immediately. Winning the tournament gave me happiness and getting married made me more happy. And now coming here and doing well for my team gives me even more joy,” Gowtham told reporters after day’s play.