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The crowd waited in vain for Rahul Dravid to come out and bat but Karnataka had other plans
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The end, when it came, was tame and all too familiar, as Karnataka batted
out the final day to take home a draw, and with it a place in the
semifinals of the Ranji Trophy. Barrington Rowland helped himself to an
unbeaten century and Karnataka finished on 249 for 3. Saurashtra, who had
failed to avert the follow-on, were nevertheless not asked to bat again,
and spent the day doing little more than providing batting practice to
Karnataka.
When the day began with Saurashtra still 58 runs shy of the follow-on
mark, there was just a hint of anticipation in the air that Karnataka
might go for the kill and try to force an outright win. However, that was
little more than wishful thinking. On a pitch that had eased out nicely
and was a batting beauty, there was little chance that this Karnataka
bowling attack could roll Saurashtra over cheaply enough.
What did happen, though, was that Saurashtra went from an overnight 352
for 8 to 354 all out in the space of only six balls. With Rakesh Dhruv out
of the equation having fractured a finger in his left hand while fielding
in the first innings, it was only a question of picking up one more
wicket, and B Akhil did just that, bowling out Feroz Bambhaniya in the
very first over.
Karnataka had a 216-run lead, but with a semi-final against Bengal coming
up in ten days, they preferred to give their batsmen a go. The Saurashtra
side were minus the services of Sandeep Jobanputra, their nippy left-arm
seamer, who had done a hamstring in the course of the match, and it was an
ideal opportunity for Robin Uthappa, who had just been picked to play for
India in the first two one-day internationals against West Indies, to fill
his boots. But it was one that went abegging. Uthappa flashed at Kanaiya
Vaghela and was easily caught for only 23 - an innings that included four
boundaries that came at better than a-run-a-ball.
C Raghu came out to join Rowland, and the depleted Saurashtra attack was
then picked off with monotonous regularity. Both batsmen posted
half-centuries, and slowly but surely the regular bowlers gave way to the
part-timers, only making batting even easier. Rowland was his careful,
orthodox self, while Raghu was more busy, working the ball around and
keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
After a 136-run partnership for the second wicket, against the grain of
play, a wicket fell, when Raghu, attempting to push the ball for a single,
was caught off Kamlesh Makvana, the offspinner. Raghu had made 66, and at
the fall of the second wicket, the small crowd gathered looked expectantly
to the Karnataka balcony, expecting Rahul Dravid to emerge down the steps.
No such thing happened, and understandably so. With nothing to play for in
the game it was a chance for some of the younger guys to have a go.
Thilak Naidu joined Rowland out in the middle, and played some pleasing
shots, driving the spinners well through cover. When the players went off
the field for tea the end of the game was in sight, and the only thing
that remained was Rowland's century. But, just like the previous day, a
wicket fell soon after tea, with Naidu (44) pulling the part-time offspin
of Jaydev Shah straight to Makvana at midwicket.
Akhil joined Rowland in the middle, and ensured there were no more blips.
The game, by this stage, had lost all import, and Sagar Jogiyani, the
Saurashtra keeper, had relinquished his pads to bowl gentle
mediumpace. Rowland completed his century, and promptly the players
trooped off the field with Karnataka on 249 from 74.2 overs. The minimum
requirement for calling off a game by mutual consent on the final day is
75 overs, and with Saurashtra having played one over in the morning, there
was nothing stopping the players from enjoying the comfort of the
dressing-room.
Karnataka now take on Bengal in one semifinal from 23-27 January, while
Mumbai take on Baroda simultaneously in the other, as this Ranji season
winds to a close.
Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Cricinfo