Nair defends going for Shreyas at crucial juncture

To give a No. 11 batsman the strike with four deliveries left in the over and 46 runs needed for the innings lead seemed foolhardy, but Aditya Shrivastava admitted that he had little choice.

Karnataka had reduced MP to 381 for 9 and were fast realising the three points they yearned for through the four days in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' contest at the Navule stadium in Shivamogga.

Shrivastava, the No.5 batting on 165 at the time, threw open the house by tucking the ball to deep square leg. Karnataka, evidently and understandably, didn’t expect Kuldeep Sen to do what he did: 23 runs from 19 balls with three sixes and a four. MP had the three points they fought hard for.

“I knew I couldn’t score all those runs by myself,” admitted Shrivastava, who finished his innings on 192. “I knew he could hit the ball a long way, that’s what fast bowlers do. So I told him to just go for it without thinking about losing his wicket.”

“What else could I have done? It was our only chance.”

Karun Nair too took a chance. The Karnataka skipper's was in bowling Shreyas Gopal. Shreyas had gone for 67 runs in 15 previous overs and hadn’t bowled all day. To give the struggling leg-spinner an over at that juncture was tactless, to say the least. Shreyas conceded 13 runs, including two sixes.

Nair, of course, defended the decision saying, “I didn’t have a choice. I can’t keep bowling our fast bowlers.” But he did go on to stress that Shreyas’ form was a bit of a concern for the team. “It is a concern, and he is having a bad time (six wickets in seven games at an economy of 3.87), but we will continue to back him. He is a good player and he has delivered for us repeatedly.”

Speaking about the game itself, Nair said: “It is disappointing, especially because our batsmen batted so well. The bowlers were very good too but I feel like they should have bowled closer to the stumps early in the innings. Besides that, they showed so much fight. It was an impressive show. Fielding, though, was a letdown. We cannot put down so many chances and expect to win games.”