VISAKHAPATNAM : The scorecard will say Tamil Nadu defeated Karnataka by seven wickets. But that hardly tells the story.
Overall, 148.2 overs were bowled, 477 runs scored and 33 wickets lost, as Visakhapatnam played host to the first Ranji Trophy quarterfinal to end inside two days this century.
As Dinesh Karthik hoisted Shreyas Gopal over the sight-screen, it gave Tamil Nadu their first win over Karnataka in 12 years, and also turned out to be their first in knockouts over three attempts. Now, Abhinav Mukund & Co head to Rajkot for the semifinal beginning on New Years, where they will face either Mumbai or Hyderabad.
If Day 1 gave 14 wickets, the second saw 19 fall on a green top at the YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium. Tamil Nadu began the day at 111/4, hoping to gain a substantial lead in what appeared to be a surface that was easing out as the match progressed.
But Karnataka had other intentions, removing Karthik and Baba Aparajith without a run being added. Abhinav, batting at No 6 because of fever, resisted for a while before miscuing a pull off Abhimanyu Mithun, and the rest crumbled to be all out for 152. But crucial was the 64-run lead.
Karnataka knew the only way to score on this surface was to be positive. Although K Vignesh strangled their top-order with four wickets, Karnataka had themselves to blame. Apart from KL Rahul, who scored a magnificent 77 and appeared a class apart, Karnataka had no answers to TN’s quicks. A mix-up with Rahul saw R Samarth back in the hut, as the eight-time champions took lunch at 39/1. Post the break, Rahul began aggressively, and the India opener, in M Kaunain Abbas’ company, added 61 runs for the second wicket as Tamil Nadu appeared rattled.
That was when Vignesh started something special. The 22-year-old, who operates in the 130s, hardly looks like a pacer thanks to his slim build and height. When he talks, it is hardly audible. But with the ball in hand, he can do wonders, especially on surfaces like this. He rattled Abbas (15) with a delivery that appeared to shape away before coming back in to hit off-stump.
Tamil Nadu got the opening they needed.
Manish Pandey was next to be humbled by Vignesh. Delivered at back of a length, the ball shot off the surface to the right-hander’s throat, and the Karthik somehow got a hand to the edge. Baba Indrajith, at first slip, was alert enough to take the rebound. Three overs later, Stuart Binny was run out. Aswin Crist got the better of CM Gautam in the same over, and then Vignesh removed Gopal in the next over to leave Karnataka tottering at 86/6. Between the four, they managed only two runs, with Gopal scoring all.
Vignesh’s spell read 12-1-43-4 as he bowled unchanged from the Press Box end.
“Rahul came with a plan of placing the ball over third-man, and was really difficult to bowl to initially. We were bowling back-of-length as the wicket assisted that, but he countered it well. We had fields, but still couldn’t exploit that. Then we came up with a different plan, tried to bowl tight to him and then attacked the batsmen at the other end,” revealed Vignesh.
Vijay Shankar, leading the side in Abhinav’s absence, then brought Natarajan back, and he wasted no time in removing Rahul. And soon the tail folded, leaving Tamil Nadu to chase 87 for a place in the last four. Though they lost the wickets of Suryaprakash, Kaushik Gandhi and Aparajith, Karthik and Indrajith ensured TN will head to Rajkot.
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com