Ranji Trophy : Change in mindset helps Shreyas

Shreyas Gopal struck his career-best score in a match as big as the quarterfinals against Mumbai on Saturday. Apart from putting Karnataka in driver's seat, his unbeaten 150 was a welcome relief for the leg-spinning all-rounder on the personal front.

When Karnataka annexed their second straight and eighth overall Ranji crown, Shreyas played an integral role, especially with the bat. Two of his four first-class centuries came during that season as he helped Karnataka recover from precarious situations. The journey post that successful season has been tough for the 24-year-old.

Inconsistency, both with bat and ball, meant that he hardly made a difference to the side. Shreyas though has handled the pressure to deliver well in the current edition. He has 21 wickets in six games and has bowled in tandem with off spinner K Gowtham. With the bat, Shreyas has two fifties and a century under his belt. A change in mindset was all it required to find his rhythm, said Shreyas.

"It was not the greatest of phases to be in. So I changed my mindset a little. I have worked on few aspects mentally. When we won the Ranji Trophy in 2014-15, I had a very good tournament with the bat. I watched a lot of videos of that period to know what I did right. Now, with extra hard work and work ethic, the results are going in my favour," he said.

The team management has shown immense faith in Shreyas and he thanked them for it. "When you have a great team and a great support staff, it helps you that much more. When you are down and out, a few words from coaches or the players do a lot of good," he offered.

Shreyas felt keeping the runs dry is the key behind his success with the ball. "We have played on some very good batting wickets. So Gowtham and I are just trying to bowl as tight as we can. Bowling on these wickets test our characters and we need to keep the pressure on the batsmen always. It's just the pressure and the dot balls that have got us wickets," he explained.