Karnataka eye winning start against Baroda

It has been a season of near misses for Karnataka.

Their quest for a ninth Ranji Trophy title crashed following a heart-breaking five-run loss to Vidarbha in the semifinal. R Vinay Kumar's men produced an authoritative show to top the South Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. But  a defeat to Punjab in the Super Over in the Super League dashed their hopes of making the final.    

The Vijay Hazare Trophy is Karnataka's final chance to redeem their season and end their three-year title drought. But placed in a tough group which includes title contenders  like Baroda  and  Punjab,  Karnataka's task is far from easy.

Progressing to the knockout stage will be their first aim and the hosts would want to start their campaign with a win when they face Baroda at the Just Cricket ground on Wednesday.

"It was really disappointing  to lose the game against Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. We came back strongly after the defeat but our morale would have surely been higher had we won that match. But that tournament is over now and we need to  completely focus on the 50-over format now," Vinay told reporters on the eve of the match.

Batting once again will be Karnataka's strength and  the return of  India international K L Rahul has further bolstered the line-up. The opener is likely to play at least three games before returning to South Africa for the T20I series. The elegant right-hander, who failed to post a big knock in the two Test matches against South Africa, will be hungry for runs.  

Apart from Rahul, the man in focus  will be  Karun Nair, who is coming on the back of two scintillating centuries in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In the absence of Manish Pandey, Nair will be key in the middle overs for Karnataka.  

The wicket is expected to be a seamer-friendly track and Karnataka's pace attack will be a mix of the young and experienced with regulars  Stuart Binny and S Arvind rested for the first two ties. Along with Vinay and Abhimanyu Mithun, the promising Prasidh Krishna could be picked as the third seamer. The hosts will depend on Pavan Deshpande, the 28-year-old southpaw who bowls off-break, to fill the slot of Binny.

"We have a couple of youngsters in our side and I feel this is the best time to test our bench strength. We want youngsters to be ready for bigger challenges in the coming season," said Vinay.  

Baroda too have a solid batting unit with skipper Deepak Hooda leading the line-up. Opener Aditya Waghmode is in fine touch while Yusuf Pathan will be an asset for the visitors thanks to his experience. Krunal Pandya, a proven match-winning all-rounder, will be Karnataka's biggest threat. Baroda's bowling though lacks experience and it remains to be seen how they handle the challenge of facing a mighty Karnataka unit. It was Baroda who ended Karnataka's fine run last season in the quarterfinal and Vinay's men will have a point to prove.