Karnataka, buoyed by the inclusion of pacer Prasidh Krishna, takes on Gujarat in a Ranji Trophy Group ‘D’ match at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Friday.
Prasidh, who featured in the two Tests in South Africa a couple of weeks ago, will take the place of Vidwath Kaverappa, who has been called up for the India ‘A’ squad to face England Lions.
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Both Karnataka and Gujarat made winning starts to their tournament openers. Karnataka took out Punjab at Hubballi by seven wickets, with Devdutt Padikkal (193) and Manish Pandey (118) striking big with the bat.
Fast bowler V. Koushik scalped seven wickets in the first essay, while spinners Rohit Kumar and Shubhang Hegde took six wickets between them in the second innings. After a nervous start, Rohit (3/101) got into a good rhythm to make it a memorable First Class debut.
In Prasidh, Koushik and and V. Vyshak, Karnataka boasts of a formidable speed unit.
It was a match to forget for captain Mayank Agarwal and his deputy Nikin Jose. Mayank was dismissed for a pair; Nikon (0 and 8) did not do much better. The duo, key components of the Karnataka top-order, will believe that better days are around the corner.
Home side Gujarat enters the contest full of confidence, having overcome a stern test against Tamil Nadu at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium at Valsad.
The 111-run win was set up by a fabulous performance by seamers Arzan Nagwaswalla, Chintan Gaja and Priyajitsing Jadeja on the last day. The Tamil Nadu side, which included established names like Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, B. Indrajith and Vijay Shankar, crumbled in the presence of accurate swing bowling.
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