JOIN US Even amidst the joy of entering their second successive Ranji Trophy final, Karnataka skipper R Vinay Kumar exhorted his batsmen to come up with a collective effort.
“We need to work on our batting, if the top-order scores, the middle-order is not scoring and vice-versa. The kind of batting line-up we have, if they play to their potential it won’t be a problem for us. Definitely we need to work on our shot selection,” said Vinay in his post-match press conference.
“If you see for the last few seasons it has been an overall combination of batting and bowling. This season, we have been lacking a bit in batting. We will have a meeting. I think after taking a 150-run lead they could have left the ball outside the off-stump and spent more time at wicket,” he added.
Vinay hoped for a better turnout in the final. “At this level the amount of experience each batsman has, it is all about mental set-up and how they approach. It has to come from within. We are waiting for Manish (Pandey) and Karun (Nair) to click. Hopefully, in the next game they perform well and we will retain the Trophy.”
Vinay had a word of praise for Mithun. “It is amazing. When he went in I told him, just go and hit out. He said, no I will go out and get runs. That is the kind of confidence he has. Both his batting and bowling was amazing. He bowled on a flat track that was not rolled for three sessions.”
Praveen Amre, the Mumbai coach, was obviously disappointed but looked more at the positive sides of the match. “I think, getting all out for 44 was not acceptable. But, overall, if you see the way we fought back, I am very proud of the boys. Not many teams get out for 44 and then make a comeback. We could see that there was pressure on them also, even though they got 400-plus to defend. There are some positives: like the way Shardul (Thakur) bowled, getting eight wickets in the game.
The former India batsman also urged for better umpiring in crucial games. “I don't want to give this as an excuse, but everybody has seen it. I think BCCI can think about keeping quality umpires in big games. Uthappa's lbw decision – 30/3 — the match would have been different. It is same with Tare's decision at a vital time. Those were the turning points for me.”