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On a green–top, Karnataka dropped the in-form off-spinner K Gowtham -- their joint second highest wicket-taker (28 wickets) this season -- to strengthen the batting by going with leg-spinning all-rounder Shreyas Gopal. Despite the move, Karnataka’s batting came a cropper against a disciplined Tamil Nadu attack. Coach J Arun Kumar confessed he was a bit shocked with the performance.
“It was a crucial toss. We played ten batsmen. That’s the best we could. It was just a bad day. What are the chances of none of the ten batsmen clicking? It’s a bit of a shock for me,” he said. Arun said the batsmen were too cautious instead of trying to keep the scoreboard ticking.
“We were probably overcautious about the wicket. When you are overcautious about something, your hand and feet don’t move well. If they would have looked for runs, like what Pandey (Manish) and Vinay did, probably we could have pushed the field back and got a few more runs,” he noted.
Tamil Nadu bowlers were disciplined, felt Arun. “They were very disciplined. Due credit to them. They were not quick but bowled in good areas. They were short of length. Driving was the only way you could get runs here as playing on the backfoot was very difficult,” he said.
Keeping it tight
TN quick Aswin Crist said his six-wicket haul was a result of keeping things tight and bowling consistently in the right areas. “In the initial few overs, I was bowling a bit short but I realised it was important to keep things tight to put pressure on the batsmen. We kept just kept bowling a good line and that worked out well,” he said.
Tamil Nadu bowling coach L Balaji was pleased with his bowlers’ effort. “The boys have learnt the right lengths to bowl in domestic cricket. “They are working well together, understanding each other and are enjoying each other's bowling. There's still a long way to go in this match and what they have done is a good job. We have to re-create the same thing in the second innings,” said the former Indian fast bowler.
“It was a crucial toss. We played ten batsmen. That’s the best we could. It was just a bad day. What are the chances of none of the ten batsmen clicking? It’s a bit of a shock for me,” he said. Arun said the batsmen were too cautious instead of trying to keep the scoreboard ticking.
“We were probably overcautious about the wicket. When you are overcautious about something, your hand and feet don’t move well. If they would have looked for runs, like what Pandey (Manish) and Vinay did, probably we could have pushed the field back and got a few more runs,” he noted.
Tamil Nadu bowlers were disciplined, felt Arun. “They were very disciplined. Due credit to them. They were not quick but bowled in good areas. They were short of length. Driving was the only way you could get runs here as playing on the backfoot was very difficult,” he said.
Keeping it tight
TN quick Aswin Crist said his six-wicket haul was a result of keeping things tight and bowling consistently in the right areas. “In the initial few overs, I was bowling a bit short but I realised it was important to keep things tight to put pressure on the batsmen. We kept just kept bowling a good line and that worked out well,” he said.
Tamil Nadu bowling coach L Balaji was pleased with his bowlers’ effort. “The boys have learnt the right lengths to bowl in domestic cricket. “They are working well together, understanding each other and are enjoying each other's bowling. There's still a long way to go in this match and what they have done is a good job. We have to re-create the same thing in the second innings,” said the former Indian fast bowler.
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(Published 23 December 2016, 19:15 IST)
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