BENGALURU: As Karnataka take on Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy national cricket tournament final from March 8 to 12, the final between the two teams way back in March 1996 comes to mind. It was played at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Tamil Nadu, winners in 1988, had lost in the 1992 final to Delhi while Karnataka were in the final for the first time since defeating Bombay in 1983. Of course they had won it in 1974 and 1978 as well. The 1996 match between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu ended in a draw but Karnataka were awarded the trophy on the basis of their first innings lead. It was the fourth time they had won it. Karnataka have won it on three more occasions since but Tamil Nadu are yet to win the trophy after 1988.
The 1996 final is remembered for the huge score of 620 for 8 declared that Karnataka posted in the first innings. Vijay Bharadwaj top-scored with a brilliant knock of 146 while Rahul Dravid made 114. Sujith Somasunder was out for 98 while Sunil Joshi was run out after having made a superb 86.
Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 370 as Anil Kumble bagged 5 for 95 and Venkatesh Prasad 2 for 71. Javagal Srinath, Sunil Joshi and K Jeshwanth picked up one wicket each.
Karnataka had a massive 250-run lead and put on another 277 for 6 before declaring. They began the final day at 95 for no loss and batted to ensure that TN had no chance whatsoever. Set to make an impossible 528 for victory, TN just went through the motions and were 31 for 3 as Karnataka were handed back the Ranji Trophy they won in 1983. Now after 14 long years, the two teams lock horns once again for the right to be called the national cricket champions in the longest format.
Medium pace bowling has been Karnataka’s strength with captain Vinay Kumar (41 wickets), Sreenath Arvind (39) and Abhimanyu Mithun (36) having done most of the damage. Leggie Shreyas Gopal has chipped in with 24.
In the batting department, the middle order has caused concern and the inclusion of youngsters like K C Avinash and Abhishek Reddy is bound to bolster the same. Robin Uthappa (912 runs), S Gopal (652), K L Rahul (650), R Samarth (611), Manish Pandey (564) have been their mainstays.
Wicket-keeper C M Gautam is injured and will not play. But not hanging on at crucial times has been a problem. Batting is TN’s forte. Skipper Abhinav Mukund (810 runs), Dinesh Karthik (753), B Indrajith (668), B Aparajith (484), V Shankar (469), R Prasanna (368), Murali Vijay (303 in just four games), have provided more solidity in comparison.
Spinners M Rangarajan (33 wickets), R S Shah (27) and Aushik Srinivas (19) have had major hauls with pacemen L Balaji (12) and Aswin Crist (13) for support. It looks as though it will be a battle between Karnataka’s pacemen and the TN batsmen. The one who comes out on top will emerge victorious with Karnataka having a decisive edge.