Karnataka team wins Vijay Hazare trophy; at Kotla Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
On paper, the final of Vijay Hazare Trophy was pitted as a clash of equals. Karnataka had a star-studded top-order, a bevy of all-rounders and an equally impressive array of young bowlers. Saurashtra, too, were emboldened with the presence of their key India players, coupled with their eclectic mix of talented home-grown players. There was little to choose between the two sides. On the eve of the summit clash, KL Rahul joined Karnataka’s heavy-duty top-order, while Saurashtra’s bowling received a boost with the return of their experienced left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat. Both Rahul and Unadkat had joined their respective teams just hours after returning from South Africa.
Not surprisingly, both teams too followed a fairly similar pattern of play in the final. Karnataka, put in to bat on a slow Feroz Shah Kotla track, had a stutter upfront. This was followed by a robust rearguard action from the irrepressible Mayank Agarwal and his childhood friend Ravikumar Samarth. Saurashtra then hit back in the middle overs on the back of their energetic fielding that accounted for two wickets, before their off-spinner Kamlesh Makvana’s four-wicket haul stalled Karnataka for a middling score of 253. In reply, Saurashtra, too, began with a stutter. This was followed by a resurgence, courtesy their captain Cheteshwar Pujara and opener Avi Barot. Like Saurashtra, Karnataka’s fielding too was a bright spot, which spurred their bowlers — Prasidh Krishna and K.Gowtham to prise six wickets between them.
In the end, it was the dour contribution from Karnataka’s resilient middle-order batsman Pavan Deshpande’s 60-ball 49, which proved to be the difference. This, in many ways, decided the final outcome of the game — Karnataka winning comfortably by 41 runs to clinch their third Vijay Hazare title — capping an impressive end to the season.
After the 136-run third-wicket partnership between Mayank and Samarth, Karnataka lost three quick wickets. Deshpande forged a 41-run stand with all-rounder Shreyas Gopal, which gave his team the much-needed cushion for the bowlers to defend. Deshpande, in many ways, is the antithesis to the belligerence of Mayank. It’s true that Mayank’s 79-ball 90 today took his tournament’s tally to 723 runs and finished as the highest run-scorer ever in the history of this List-A tournament. But the 28-year-old Deshpande, without much fuss, too has accrued pretty impressive stats (310 runs) in this edition. For all his heroics in the final, his road to the Karnataka team has not been smooth. Hailing from a mofussil town of Dharwad, in northern Karnataka, the tall left-hander put in the hard yards at junior cricket, graduating from the U-19 and U-23 levels before making his first-class debut in the 2016 season. He has found it difficult to cement his spot in the longer format. However, he staged a turnaround in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy this year, scoring crucial half centuries and some languid 40s, all of which have been match-winning efforts. Seeing his utility, the Royal Challengers Bangalore picked him at the IPL auction last month, for his base price of Rs 20 lakh.
Pujara knock in vain
Saurashtra would rue the fact that they did not have someone like a Deshpande to step up in the crucial finale. The Pujara-Barot partnership had given their team the perfect launchpad. But they kept losing wickets in the middle overs and without a credible partnership, they rolled over without much fight. Even some unusually lusty hits from Pujara, enroute to his 94 proved to be grossly insufficient.
“The total was very chaseable. We lost too many wickets in the middle, that’s why we lost today,” Pujara said after the loss.
Brief Scores: Karnataka 253 in 45.5 overs (Mayank Agarwal 90 off 79 balls, Ravikumar Samarth 48 off 65 balls, Pavan Deshpande 49 off 60 balls, Kamlesh Makvana 4/34) bt Saurashtra 212 in 46.3 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 94 off 127 balls, Krishnappa Gowtham 3/37) by 41 runs
Arvind quits first-class cricket
Sreenath Aravind, Karnataka’s experienced left-arm seamer, has announced his retirement from domestic cricket after his side clinched the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Aravind, who made his first-class debut in 2008 season, was part of the three-man pace trio, which also featured Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun, and were instrumental in Karnataka’s double-treble in 2014 and 2015.
“I started my career in 2008, playing the Ranji Trophy against Saurashtra. I started against them and ending on a good note with the Vijay Hazare [title],” he reminisced. “I appreciate and thank the KSCA, selectors, my coaches, my parents, god and my friends whoever appreciated and supported me, I thank them all.”
Aravind has played in 56 first-class games in which he has picked up 186 wickets.The highlight of his domestic career was his 54-wicket burst during Karnataka’s epic Ranji season of 2014-15.The 33-year-old has featured in a solitary T20I for India — against South Africa in 2015. But his decade-long career has been constantly plagued by injuries.
“I decided yesterday night and told the team about it. A lot of youngsters are coming in and I have been in and out so I just want to give way to them to try and build their careers. They are marching into a good side now,” he added. Aravind said that he has not decided on his immediate future as yet, but was keeping his options open. Without an IPL contract this year, he is open to playing in other T20 leagues such as the KPL and TNPL for now.
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