BENGALURU: As soon as stumps were drawn at 5.00 PM at the BCCI's CoE facility in the outskirts of the city on Sunday, a largely sun-kissed day had turned overcast before the heavens had opened. Within minutes, though, blue skies hovered over the vast facility.
It was also that kind of day for Vidwath Kaverappa, the South Zone pacer who was instrumental in bowling out North Zone for 195 on the opening day of their Duleep Trophy semifinal tie. In his opening spell, he went for plenty without success (7-1-38-0). In his second spell, he didn't go for any and had a lot of success (8-2-28-4). He was ably supported by his opening bowling partner, MD Nidheesh, and left-arm seamer, Tanay Thyagarajan.
Together, the trio had accounted for eight wickets but the undoubted star was the 27-year-old whose second spell hastened the opposition's demise. In the morning session, on a surface where even the new ball was crying out for some help in terms of the slowness of the wicket, he went for plenty of runs but it wasn't because of bad lines or wrong lengths as he would say later to the media. "There were some boundaries but they had also come off the edges," he said. There were also plays and misses.
After bowling seven overs on the trot, he had seen other bowlers pick up four wickets sandwiched by the lunch break. Something changed when he came back for his second spell, replacing Nidheesh. Luck.
Off his first 10 overs, he went at more than five an over. Then, the wickets started tumbling. He picked up four wickets on the trot in his next five overs, conceding just 14 runs in the process. "I just focused on keeping it tight and mixed it with some bouncers and it paid off," he said on what changed between the first and second sessions.
Keeping it close to the stumps in that corridor did most of the damage as three of the wickets were either caught by the keeper (N Jagadeesan) or pocketed by a man in the corner (Ricky Bhui at slip).
There was a point of time when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wanted to invest time, effort and money in Kaverappa's promising red-ball career. He had caught the eye in back-to-back Ranji campaigns (2022-23 and 2023-24) for Karnataka, picking up a combined 55 wickets across 13 games at an average of below 21.
When Kaverappa was named in a first-of-its-kind fast-bowling contract list in February 2024, the BCCI had noted: "In addition to the annual contracts, India's selection committee also recommended fast bowling contracts for certain players, acknowledging their specialised skills and potential contributions in the bowling department."
But a stress fracture removed all momentum from his career just when he was ready for lift-off. In the next domestic season, he played only one match for his state apart from another red-ball game in the Duleep Trophy. "It came at a very bad time, seeing how my career was going" he said "But, yeah, injuries are part of sports. You can't really predict when it's going to come, even though you are taking care of your body as best as you can. Sometimes, it just pops up without your knowledge."
The one thing he did during the forced break was 'come up with ways to expand my arsenal'. "That was my plan. That's how I have added a little more strength, and I also made a few corrections in my actions."
He also understands himself a lot more in 2026, as compared to 2024. "A lot more in tune with my bowling, I have understood what exactly works for me and what doesn't work for me. I just work around the things that work for me."
His second spell was evidence of that.
Karun not in XI
One of the biggest news of the day came even before the ball was bowled in anger. As soon as the South Zone XI landed, one man's name was missing. Karun Nair, who had played in a Test in England only 13 months ago. Curiously, the team management had made it a point to name him as the '13th man' in the squad. When queried if he had picked up a niggle in the hours leading up to the game, there was no official reason forthcoming.
Brief scores: North Zone 195 in 59.1 ovs (Iqbal 76; Kaverappa 4/66, Tanay 2/31) vs South Zone 40/2 in 18 ovs (Jagadeesan batting 34); Central Zone 266 in 80.1 ovs (Rinku 60; Shami 2/42, Mukesh 3/56, Abhijit 3/38) vs East Zone
