While the heady feeling of last week’s Ranji Trophy triumph still envelops the Karnataka team, there is no time for R. Vinay Kumar’s men to slowly savour the joy.
Another round of cricket beckons and the host steps in again with the weight of the champion’s tag in the Irani Cup match against Rest of India at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here from Tuesday.
In the last edition at the same venue, Karnataka defeated Rest by an innings and 222 runs. That dominant air lingers even now and with Vinay all set to play his 100th First Class game, there is added impetus for Karnataka to give an appropriate gift to its skipper.
“When I started playing my goal was to play in the Ranji Trophy. If you look at the journey, I started from Davanagere, playing for the United Cricket Club, then played for Neptune Cricket Club with Sir (B. Siddaramu), and then got a chance to play for Vijaya Bank, it has been a long route. The hard work really paid off and I hope I can perform once again for the team,” Vinay said.
Karnataka seems primed to excel though it will miss opener K.L. Rahul, who is laid low by a hamstring strain, and wicket-keeper batsman C.M. Gautam continues to be on the injured-list. Their absence should create opportunities for the likes of Mayank Agarwal and Abhishek Reddy while the bowling unit’s rhythm and potency can test Rest of India.
“We want to win every game and we are approaching this game too with the same mindset. This game will be big for all the players as the selectors will be watching,” Vinay said and also hinted that he might step in with his pace-quartet backed by leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal.
If Karnataka is focussed upon extending a good run, Rest of India is more about diverse individuals attempting to attain cohesion while also pushing their case in front of the selectors. Led by Manoj Tiwary, the visitor will hope to make it a strong contest.
“We have had very little time to gel together, but most of the guys have been playing together in the India ‘A’ team. As captain, I know them very well and Mr. Lalchand Rajput (coach) has been with the India ‘A’ team quite regularly,” Tiwary said, adding that he was conscious of his poor yield in the Ranji season (349 at 26.84).
“This season I haven’t been able to score big runs but I know big runs will come,” he said, and expressed hope that Varun Aaron, Shardul Thakur and Pragyan Ojha offer a strong counter when Robin Uthappa and company walk out to bat.
The teams (from):
Karnataka: R. Vinay Kumar (captain), Robin Uthappa, R. Samarth, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Shreyas Gopal, Shishir Bhavane, Abhishek Reddy, Udit Patel, A. Mithun, S. Arvind, H.S. Sharath, J. Suchith, K.C. Avinash, Mayank Agarwal and C.M. Gautam. Coaches: J. Arunkumar (batting) and Mansur Ali Khan (bowling).
Rest of India: Manoj Tiwary (captain), Unmukt Chand, Jiwanjot Singh, Paras Dogra, Kedar Jadhav, Naman Ojha, Rishi Dhawan, Jayant Yadav, Pragyan Ojha, Shardul Thakur, Varun Aaron, Rush Kalaria, Baba Aparajith, Jalaj Saxena and Vijay Shankar. Coach: Lalchand Rajput.
