Uttar Pradesh opener Almas Shaukat struck an unbeaten century on the final day of a drawn Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka, at the KSCA Stadium here on Friday.
With the match heading to a certain stalemate, play was called off in the afternoon session, just after Shaukat (103 n.o., 210b, 14x4, 1x6) reached his second First-Class ton.
The 24-year-old carried on his good form from the previous outing against Railways, where he made an unbeaten 92. The home side recorded three points on the basis of gaining the first-innings lead, while the visitor took one point.
As It Happened: Ranji Trophy - Round 2, Day 4
Karnataka pacer A. Mithun, who scalped six wickets in the first essay and scored an quickfire 34, was named the ‘Man of the Match’.
Bowling coach S. Arvind was all praise for Mithun, who has returned from a back spasm injury with gusto. “Mithun has been working hard on his fitness, and is bowling at his best now. He wants to take the team forward in the absence of Vinay Kumar. He is a good mentor for youngsters — teaching them about strategy and so on,” Arvind said here on Friday.
Arvind stated that the team management will try to manage Mithun’s workload by resting him from some outings.
Not long ago, Arvind was part of a terrific Karnataka pace attack, alongside Mithun and Vinay. The current pace attack — which includes the likes of Mithun, Ronit More, Prasidh Krishna, V. Koushik and David Mathias — are more than capable replacements, Arvind said.
The former India left-arm seamer added that Krishna, who has sat out of the first two Ranji Trophy matches due to a troublesome ankle, is likely to regain full fitness in about two weeks.
On skipper Karun Nair’s poor form with the bat, Arvind said, “Sometimes, a player can have a bad patch. It may even continue for one or two years. Karun is our senior pro; we need to back him."
Karnataka next takes on Himachal Pradesh at Mysuru. The match commences at the SDNR Wadiyar Stadium on Christmas Day.
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