Gritty Gopal sets stage for tense final act

BENGALURU: When Shreyas Gopal completed a single in the 66th over of Karnataka’s second innings, it took him to fifty. It received the loudest cheer from the holiday crowd at Chinnaswamy Stadium. Some of his teammates in the dressing room gave him a standing ovation, as Gopal pointed towards the KSCA crest on his shirt.

A knock of unbeaten 61 is not extraordinary. But in the context of this Ranji Trophy semifinal, it was worth its weight in gold. The all-rounder’s second half-century of the match and his unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 61 with Abhimanyu Mithun brought Karnataka back after Saurashtra seemed to have seized the initiative. The hosts reached 237/8 for a lead of 276, thus setting up a potentially tense last act on a difficult pitch.

In a first-class career which started five seasons ago, Gopal had four centuries and seven half-centuries before this match, with a highest of 150 not out. What he did in this crunch game should still rank among his best.

“I have been playing with Gopal from my school days. This is the best I have seen him bat. He has taken responsibility and played as per the situation. Fifties in both innings is amazing. And fifty in the second innings here is like a hundred. I hope he actually scores one and helps us take a good lead,” said Karun Nair, who managed only 15.

Gopal walked in after Karnataka lost Manish Pandey in the 25th over. The total read 89/4 and they had a lead of only 128 runs. Variable bounce was making life difficult. The pressure on Gopal doubled after Mayank Agarwal fell for 46. Lack of support was becoming a problem, as he watched from the other end Srinivas Sharath (7), Vinay Kumar (12) and Krishnappa Gowtham (11) walk back to the hut.

This is why Mithun’s effort was as valuable as Gopal’s. The veteran fast bowler shouldered responsibility, mixing solid defensive blocks with the occasional boundary. Gopal rotated the strike freely once Mithun started looking confident. The all-rounder used his feet against the spinners and showed a straight bat to the pacers. Their partnership could turn out to be the turning point of the match and the crowd acknowledged it, cheering singles like boundaries.

On the fourth morning, Karnataka’s aim will be to stretch their lead past 300, which will be challenging in the fourth innings. “The wicket is going to get tougher. Our bowlers were brilliant in the first innings and brought us back. So credit goes to them, but we have to come back tomorrow and do it again,” added Nair.