Mumbai may have just won its 39th Ranji Trophy, but for anyone not weaned on tales of valour set in the Shivaji Park Gymkhana or Cross Maidan, the 2009-10 domestic season belonged to the team that lost the final. For Karnataka's first appearance in the Ranji Trophy final in ten years, and its stirring performance therein, was achieved thanks to a group of intrepid youngsters.
Manish Pandey and Abhimanyu Mithun might, of that lot, have garnered the most column inches, but not far behind in terms of impact was 21-year-old Ganesh Satish.
Playing only his second season, Satish was Karnataka's second-highest run-scorer behind Pandey and fourth highest overall. Batting at number three, he made two centuries and three fifties in seven matches. In Karnataka's epic chase in the final, he made 75, a gutsy knock that perfectly complemented Pandey's pyrotechnic 144 in a 209-run fourth-wicket stand.
Having reduced Karnataka to 46 for three, Mumbai couldn't have expected such defiance from the young pair. Tempers flared when a series of boundaries flew off Satish's edge.
“They were getting very agitated with that,” Satish chuckles. “It was a very hot-tempered game, you could say, with everyone trying hard to win ... I think the Bombay knock was probably my most hard-working innings, and if we'd won, it would have been the most satisfying. It was great batting with Manish.”
The two combined brilliantly throughout the season, with three century stands in all. “I guess we play different styles of cricket,” says Satish. “He's more the aggressor while I just give him singles.”
Proving his credentials
Satish is only being modest. In the recently-concluded Subbiah Pillai South Zone tournament, the classically upright right-hander proved his limited-overs credentials in emphatic fashion, topping the scoring charts with 354 runs in five innings, at more than a run a ball, his knocks filled with pick-up shots over midwicket and lofted drives over cover. In the first game, he scored 100, and Pandey a 69-ball 95, as Karnataka chased Goa's 286 in less than 40 overs. “I guess it's just the confidence I carried over from the Ranji Trophy,” he says, when asked about his easy transformation into a punishing one-day bat.
The foundations of Satish's game, however, were built in the longer format. “In my younger days, we hardly played one-dayers,” he says. “It's been a very good influence on my cricket, my technique especially.”
Starting in the under-14 side back in the 2000-01 season, Satish progressed through Karnataka's age-group squads, scoring consistently at every stage. He even earned a spot in the India under-19 squad for a Youth Test against England in 2005, but didn't make the eleven.
The under-22s, however, proved a steep learning curve, with his highest score in his first three full seasons in the C. K. Nayudu under-22 tournament only 63. It all changed in the 2008-09 season, where he stroked four centuries in five under-22 matches. “I think it was just my mental approach,” he says, when asked what changed in that season. “Initially, I was just a little too aggressive. I calmed myself down, kept talking to myself, and spent time in the middle. That's what worked for me. Plus, I've had two coaches who've helped me a lot — Rajesh Kamath, who's now the Goa Ranji coach, and (current Karnataka coach) Sanath Kumar. They've worked with me for a long time — Rajesh sir has been my coach since I was eight years old.”
Difficult period
Careful nurturing by the support staff played a critical role in helping Satish through a difficult initial period in the Ranji Trophy. After averaging only 21 in three matches in the 2008-09 season, he wasn't picked for the first two games of 2009-10, getting a call-up against Bengal only because Rahul Dravid left to play the Tests against Sri Lanka. In that game, Satish made only 18 in the one innings he played.
Did he fear for his place in the side at that point? “The best thing about this unit and support staff was that they assured me that I'd get my fair chance, and get a run of games,” he says. “I wasn't worried about my place, just worried that my big score hadn't come. They kept talking to me, assuring me my form was good.”
The maiden hundred came in Karnataka's very next game, 141 against Maharashtra at Pune. Runs flowed thereafter — 94 against Baroda, 120 and 68 against Saurashtra.
While he might not at this stage be part of the group of batsmen jostling to take over from India's long-standing middle-order firm of Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman, Satish realises that a couple more seasons like this one will send his name swirling through selection meetings.
“Short-term, my target is to keep winning matches for Karnataka, keep doing well. If along the way, I get selected, it's great,” he says. “Right now I'm just focussing on learning this game and doing well, doing better than I did this season.”
