Lots of grind behind Gowtham's rise

‘Rise and grind’ is K Gowtham’s mantra. It’s not hard to spot the line in all his social media posts. “It’s something that I believe in. You do rise to the top but you also need to grind every time to remain there,” he had told reporters on Tuesday after his all-round effort (51 & 6/110) had helped Karnataka gain a handy 29-run first-innings lead against Tamil Nadu in their Group B Ranji Trophy game.

The last ten days of Gowtham’s life speak volumes of his character. On December 1, the 31-year-old first successfully defended 13 runs in the final over to give Karnataka their second straight Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title. Four days later, Gowtham entered wedlock in Bengaluru and reached at the NPR College ground here only on the night of December 8, the eve of the contest.

Taking his busy schedule by his stride, Gowtham produced a single-handed performance that is sure to be remembered for a long time. With his best ever first-class figures of 8/60, he anchored Karnataka’s thrilling 26-run win.

“I don’t think there was anything else left to do. I gave it all,” Gowtham said with a smile. “Travelling 10 hours by road and coming here, I wanted to give it my all. I pride myself on being a team man,” Gowtham told reporters on Thursday.

The off-spinner has often stated in the past about his liking for pressure situations. On a day that wasn’t short on twists, Gowtham was his captain’s most trusted soldier. Bowling without a break had a toll on his back, with the team’s physiotherapist rushing to the ground on more than one occasion to help him. Gowtham bowled 30.3 overs on the trot, a reflection of his never-say-die ability.

“I enjoy a lot when there is pressure and I enjoy when there is complete responsibility on me. I don’t complain about the nature of the pitches. This is professional cricket and you need to find a way to succeed,” he said.

Gowtham is a clever bowler no doubt but accuracy his biggest strength. “He bowled good lines continuously and that made it difficult to keep the scoreboard ticking,” observed Tamil Nadu captain Vijay Shankar.

“You don’t need to have 10 deliveries,” felt Gowtham. “You need to have one different ball that is lethal,” he said.

The consistent match-winner for Karnataka rated this show very highly. “This is one of my best efforts. Tamil Nadu are good players of spin so it’s special to get so many wickets against them,” said Gowtham, who has 147 first-class wickets in 37 games.