BENGALURU: “Cometh the hour, cometh the men,” to paraphrase a popular saying. In testing batting conditions and scoreboard pressure while chasing 184 for victory, Karnataka’s seasoned campaigners Manish Pandey and Karun Nair rose to the occasion to beat Rajasthan by six wickets in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals. This win helped them book a second successive semifinals spot.

Starting the day at 45/3, nightwatchman Ronit More lost his wicket early and in walked a determined Pandey, who joined Nair at the middle. Their unbeaten 129-run partnership before lunch paved the way for a solid win at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday. The captain’s positive intent was known in his first few ba­lls.

He survived some nervy mo­ments, as three edges fe­t­ched him his first three bounda­ries. It was only after a straight driven four off Aniket Choudhary that Pandey came into his own. His positive approach was justified. After having witne­ssed the dismissals on Thursday, where most of the batsmen got out defending, Pandey’s approach paid off. 

It was not a surface, where one could just defend and play the waiting game. His aggressive intent unsettled Rajasthan with the right-hander’s match-winning 75-ball 87, which included 14 fours and two sixes, being the major difference between the two teams.  “The first three boundaries I got — I know it was not very convincing — but after that we started to see the change. Their voices dropped and things like that. Playing here, as a batsman it’s important to be positive. The intent to score should be there. Previous game’s experience... what I thought was too defensive. I was clear in my mi­ndset to go in and look to score runs, especially boundar­ies,” said Pandey, who was dropped by Deepak Chahar on 38.   

It was his century stand with Nair, which saw them through. Pandey’s approach might have shone through, but Nair deserves a special mention with his crucial 61. The 27-year-old gritted it out in the final hour on Thursday, scoring 18, which was equally important as his Friday contribution of 43. 

Nair might not have been as effective as he would have liked this season, but he brought his A game when it mattered most. He looked solid, not giving much chance to the Rajasthan bowlers. Even excessive appealing and close-in fielders did not disturb his concentration. Such a calming factor might have been brought about with Pandey batting brilliantly.  

Though Pandey and Nair deserve praise, the 10th wicket 97-run stand between Vinay Kumar — man of the match for his unbeaten 83 — and Ronit More on Wednesday was the defining moment. Karnataka will face UP or Saurashtra next.