Bowlers Cariappa, Gowtham too star in nine-run win over Mumbai
For over two seasons now, Karnataka's seasoned campaigner Karun Nair has been under fire with his bat having gone cold. He picked the best possible occasion to announce his return to form. At the ACA stadium in Guwahati, the middle-order batsman struck a fluent 53-ball 72 (6x4; 2x6) to play a crucial role in Karnataka's nine-run win over Mumbai in their Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament opener.
Nair's timely half-century came after a long lull, with the last being an unbeaten 65 against Bihar in the same competition in November 2019.
After Nair and skipper Manish Pandey (84; 64b; 7x4; 2x6) propelled Karnataka to 166/4, the spin duo of KC Cariappa (3/26) and K Gowtham (2/26) restricted Mumbai to 157/6.
Karnataka were off to a disastrous start, as Mumbai's debutant pacer Mohit Avasthi (2/32) made a dream debut with opener Mayank Agarwal caught at midwicket by Atharva Ankoleka off the first ball.
Just as Pandey looked to stabilise the innings with Devdutt Padikkal (5), the latter struck an Avasthi delivery to a waiting Shivam Dube at mid-on.
At 15 for 2 in the third over, Pandey and Nair rebuilt the Karnataka innings. The duo found the gaps and rotated the strike, growing in confidence as their partnership took off. Their 149-run association for the third wicket put the house back in order. The stand was finally broken in the 20th over with Nair holing out a Tushar Deshpande (2/38) delivery to Aman Khan at long on. Deshpande picked up his second wicket, dismissing Pandey off the last ball of the innings.
Karnataka, who decided to go with two spinners and three pacers, started the defence with leggie Cariappa opening the bowling. He struck off the third ball with Prithvi Shaw losing his stumps. While pacers Prasidh Krishna and Prateek Jain went for runs, the spinners along with pacer Vidhyadhar Patil, who was handed his maiden cap on the day, checked the run rate.
As Ajinkya Rahane (75; 54b; 6x4; 3x6) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) built a 40-run partnership, Gowtham broke the stand with the latter stumped by wicketkeeper BR Sharath. Mumbai looked well on course with Siddesh Lad (32) making a healthy contribution, but Cariappa and Gowtham had other plans. First Gowtham got Lad's number and then Cariappa turned the match in Karnataka's favour in the 17th over, sending back Rahane and Shivam Dube off successive balls to put them back in the hunt.
The win did not come without some anxious moments for Karnataka. Needing 24 for off the last over, Ankolekar launched Prasidh for six and the margin was further reduced with the lead pacer conceding two wides. With 12 runs off the last two balls, Prasidh managed to hold off Mumbai.
SCOREBOARD
Karnataka: Mayank Agarwal c Ankolekar b Avasthi 0, Devdutt Padikkal c Dube b Avasthi 5, Manish Pandey c Tare b Deshpande 84, Karun Nair c Khan b Deshpande 72, K Gowtham (not out) 0. Extras (NB-1, W-2, B-1, LB-1) 5. Total (for 4 wkts; 20 overs) 166.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-15, 3-164, 4-166.
Bowling: Mohit Avasthi 4-0-32-2, Tushar Deshpande 4-0-38-2, Atharva Ankolekar 4-0-25-0, Tanush Kotian 4-0-25-0, Shivam Dube 3-0-27-0, Yashasvi Jaiswal 1-0-17-0.
Mumbai: Prithvi Shaw b Cariappa 4, Ajinkya Rahane c Pandey b Cariappa 75, Yashasvi Jaiswal st Sharath b Gowtham 13, Siddesh Lad c Padikkal b Gowtham 32, Shivam Dube b Cariappa 3, Aditya Tare (not out) 12, Aman Khan c Karun b Patil 1, Atharva Ankolekar (not out) 13. Extras (W-4) 4. Total (6 wkts; 20 overs) 157.
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-44, 3-125, 4-129, 5-129, 6-130.
Bowling: KC Cariappa 4-0-26-3, Prasidh Krishna 4-0-41-0, Prateek Jain 4-0-39-0, Vidhyadhar Patil 4-0-25-1, K Gowtham 4-0-26-2.
