Yere Goud: 'We didn't bat well in the second innings'

Karnataka coach Yere Goud reflects on the 2018-19 season and how it will help the side in transition in the future.

Yere Goud laments Karnataka losing two wickets inside 15 overs in most of the matches this year.

Karnataka coach Yere Goud feels his side didn’t bat well enough against Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy semifinal that the visitor won by five wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday.

“We could have been better in the second innings. The target should have been close to 400. That was our aim, so that we could bat them out of the game,” he told reporters after the loss on day five morning. 

The Cheteshwar Pujara innings, an unbeaten 266-ball 131, that took Saurashtra to the final was a manual for the young Karnataka batters. Goud followed every moment to show his players what’s needed to get the job done.

“It is not about hitting boundaries and sixes. It is about playing the sessions, and you can play the sessions when you have solid defense and if you are able to rotate the strike playing along the ground. That’s the message we have already sent to the boys. In the coming season, they will look to improve and come back.”

“We have lost two wickets in most games under 15 overs, whether we batted first or second. That has been the case throughout the season. It is the tail with Shreyas [Gopal] and Vinay [Kumar] who have got us to good totals,” he added.

As coach, Goud took over from P.V. Shashikanth with an aim to build a side for the future. The transitional 2018-19 season holds bright for youngsters such as Krishnamurthy Siddharth, wicketkeepers Sharath Srinivas and B.R. Sharath, and fast bowler Ronit More.

“All of them have chipped in. We have built a side for the next two to three years. You need to give them confidence by telling them, ‘boss, you are here, you will get more matches to play.”’

The coach also justified the tough decisions made throughout the season. All-rounder J. Suchith has been in and out. Despite poor form, R. Samarth was preferred ahead of Dega Nischal for the semifinal. 

“Nischal was in good form. He went into a shell in the last five innings. Samarth batted well against Rajasthan. With his experience, we thought he will come good in the big game. That’s why we played him,” he said.