Ranji Trophy: Gritty Goa frustrate Karnataka

Mayank Agarwal's men struggle to enforce issue on placid pitch

There was distinct desperation in Karnataka’s disposition on the final day of their Group C Ranji Trophy fixture against Goa. It was one they haven’t expressed in a while.

The eight-time champions came prepared for a fight, but even they couldn’t have foreseen this level of fortitude from a side assumed to be inept for Elite first-class cricket.

Goa weren’t going to be bullied, and with that attitude in tow, they managed to hold Karnataka to a draw on Friday. This after Karnataka put up 603 runs at a good clip in the first innings.

Of course, a pitch this bland can only inspire such results, but the battle between a side which wanted to dominate and one which refused to get dominated was refreshing.

After getting to 321/8 at stumps on the third day, piggybacking on skipper Darshan Misal’s temerity, Goa ended their first essay on 373.

Having eaten up 12.5 overs, Goa - following on - entered their second stint knowing that if they put a price on their wickets, they could extract one point from this game.

As if working off of a template, they went about this innings much the same as they did in the first. If anything, they were a bit more attacking with the likes of Suyash Prabhudessai (61 n.o.) releasing pressure with balanced strokes.

Prabhudessai and those who complemented him got under the skin of an already-irked K Gowtham. The off-spinner pushed his mates to go for the kill, and each time there was no reciprocity, he wore the look of someone exasperated.

While this interesting internal dynamic unfolded for Karnataka, Goa went on to reach 150 for 3 in 45 overs before the captains realised the futility of another session and shook hands at the stroke of tea.

Surely, both sides were grateful for the recent rule change which has made away with the 15 mandatory overs post-tea for the game to be called off.

Skipper Mayank Agarwal insisted that he was happy with how the game panned out later on, but surely even he realises that this was another missed opportunity.

Karnataka, who have 13 points from three games (same as Kerala and Chhattisgarh), are guilty of a late dash for the knockouts. In that context, putting away three fairly ordinary teams early on could have bucked that trend. But now, having only managed one six-point game, they will probably look back in regret as they have tougher teams coming their way.

Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Kerala and Jharkhand are Karnataka’s opponents in chronology, each of them as proficient as the next.

In that sense, the desperation and attitude they showed against Goa is a much-needed mould for the games to come.

Still, they need to build a more stringent spin department and their field placements need some work. Also, some batters need to convert starts, especially Agarwal.

Agarwal is doing a good job of attempting to inject an old-new culture into the side with Gowtham on his side, but for Karnataka to go the distance, they will need the younger lot to buy into the ideology.

This gap between the generations within the side is projecting itself as disjointedness. Well, at least they have some energy this time.