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Karnataka stole a march towards a semi-final spot in the Ranji Trophy,
posting a massive 570, but Saurashtra's openers showed they were no
pushovers, posting a rousing unbeaten century stand in response. Yere Goud
made his first century for Karnataka, and it was a big one, an unbeaten
171, and this propelled Karnataka to a score that will cause problems,
good start or not.
When the day began, the buzz was not so much over the Ranji Trophy match
that was being played, but over the selection of the 30 probables for the
World Cup, which will happen on Friday at the Madhavrao Scindia Stadium in
Rajkot. Television cameras began to roll in and assume vantage positions
while photographers - a rather large number of them - came to the ground
with a different agenda.
It was Rahul Dravid's 34th birthday, and the occasion prompted the big and
mighty of Rajkot to head to the ground with cakes in tow. There were at
least four different cakes cut: at one private little do in the
dressing-room, one from the Saurashtra Cricket Association for the media
to capture, one from the hotel where the team was staying, and another
from heaven-knows-where. Dravid, never one to get excited over such
occasions, wondered what all the fuss was about.
Another man who was not getting excited in the least was Goud. With the
two highflyers of this match - Dravid and Robin Uthappa - already
dismissed on the first day, Goud could concentrate on the task at hand -
helping Karnataka post a huge total. His innings was almost nondescript,
not because he did not play strokes, but because there was an air of the
inevitable about it.
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Once Goud had got his eye in, and seen off the early nip of Sandeep
Jobanputra and Sandip Maniar, there was nothing to do but settle down and
cash in. He milked the spinners - both the regular offspin of Kamlesh
Makvana and the somewhat loopy, decidedly more irregular left-arm-spin of
Sitanshu Kotak. At all times measured, Goud got to his century with a
driven boundary off Makvana. It was a moment to relish for Goud, who only
returned to Karnataka this season, having spent many years playing for Railways.
Returning home, he was made captain, and now has a century under his belt.
Thilak Naidu (14), fell early in the day, and when B Akhil and Sunil Joshi
departed in quick succession, there was just a chance that Saurashtra
could restrict Karnataka to a manageable first-innings score. But Raju
Bhatkal, making his debut for Karnataka, enthusiastically took on the
bowlers, hitting three boundaries and two sixes in a breezy 42 that put
Karnataka back on track.
For a time it seemed as though Karnataka were batting too long, like they
were needlessly piling on the runs, but in the end it proved to be a wise
decision. Udit Patel hammered 35, and was last out, with the score on 570.
All along Goud held firm, batting more than six-and-a-half hours for
his 171 that included 20 fours and 2 sixes.
When it was Karnataka's turn to bowl, Vinay Kumar and Akhil got their
lengths wrong to start off, bowling too full on a hard, flat pitch that
was good for batting. The only time the fast bowlers have had any
assistance here is early in the morning, and Saurashtra's openers filled
their boots. Sagar Jogiyani, who must have been tired after keeping
wickets for close to two days, shrugged off fatigue and clouted the ball
to all parts. He cover-drove off front and back foot with authority,
clipped the ball off his pads with deftness, and even had the confidence
to pull Vinay Kumar for a six over square-leg. He raced to a half-century,
and was unbeaten on 62 off only 56 balls, with Kannaiya Vaghela (32 not
out) keeping him good company as Saurashtra ended the day on 103 for no
loss. There's still plenty of work left to do, but at least they have
begun well.