BENGALURU: A day after belittling batsmen and bowlers alike, Karnataka spin all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham woke up to hundreds of messages congratulating him on his feat. By now, although Gowtham has been accustomed to such greetings after every five-for he took for either his state team or India A, Saturday was special.
He felt on the top of the world achieving something a cricketer could only dream of, getting the fastest hundred of a tournament (he made 136 off 54 balls) and best bowling figure (8/15) in T20 history — both in the same match — against Shivamogga Lions in the Karnataka Premier League.
With the ball, he broke the record of South African Colin Ackermann, who bagged 7/18 in the T20 Blast (England) for Leicestershire earlier this month. But, ICC doesn't recognise Gowtham's achievement as the world body doesn’t take into account the state T20 leagues, but it was no mean feat.
Yet, the man of the moment isn’t perturbed. The Ballari Tuskers player doesn’t want to be swayed by such ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ achievement. The 31-year-old is rather grounded with humility and already planning for the next KPL game. “I got up in the morning and I still didn’t believe myself. After looking at the phone, so many messages, it felt something special. I'm on top of the world. It was one of those days when everything came off. I know that the coming games will be more taxing and you’ll have to come up with good shows again. It’s certainly not about one day and one show.”
Gowtham certainly understands the hard work he has to put in going forward. He has bossed over batsmen with his magic fingers — in Ranji Trophy and for India A. But with finger spinners becoming a luxury in any team, he just wants to concentrate on his bowling to continue backing his case for India selection with numbers. He bagged 20 wickets in five games in Ranji Trophy last season and impressed with 12 scalps in the three unofficial Tests against West Indies A in the Caribbean for India A. That he has one hundred and two fifties in first-class cricket and two half-centuries in T20s supports his case as an all-rounder.
“I am not thinking that far ahead. Some things are not in my control. I'm not too worried about the selection process. It’s left to the selectors and if there is a requirement in the team,” Gowtham said.
“I'm just doing what I can. I’ve been working on a few variations and it worked.”