Ranji Trophy 2022-23: Upbeat Karnataka takes on Goa in Elite group encounter

Karnataka enters this fixture on the back of an innings victory over Pondicherry at Bengaluru. A dominant Karnataka wrapped up the fixture within three days at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

FILE PHOTO: Karnataka players during the Ranji Trophy match at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday 22 December 2022. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

A confident Karnataka will strive to gain maximum points against Goa in its Ranji Trophy Elite ‘C’ group encounter which commences here on Tuesday.

Karnataka enters this fixture on the back of an innings victory over Pondicherry at Bengaluru. A dominant Karnataka wrapped up the fixture within three days at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Goa, on the other hand, has recorded draws in its last two games. At Jamshedpur a few days ago, Goa narrowly missed out on taking the first-innings lead against Jharkhand. Captain Darshan Misal and wicketkeeper-batter Eknath Kerkar scored half-centuries to get the side close to Jharkhand’s total of 386 but eventually fell 24 runs short.

Jharkhand then declared early to push for an outright win, and Goa managed to hold on for a draw.

Karnataka had little trouble dismantling Pondicherry. Pacers Vidwath Kaverappa, Vyshak Vijaykumar, and Ronit More ran through the Pondicherry batting line-up, as the home team bowled out the opposition for 170 and 127.

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Opener R. Samarth made a classy 137 to ensure that Karnataka only had to bat once.

The unit will hope that upstart Vishal Onat comes good. Onat has featured in two first-class games, and has scores of 33, 14 and 4. The experienced Manish Pandey is due for a big one as well. Pandey did show signs of form with a 78-ball 45 against Pondicherry.

All-rounder Shreyas Gopal only got to bowl two overs in that encounter, with coach P. V. Shashikanth explaining that Shreyas will be called into action if a match drifts into the fourth day. If Karnataka make short work of Goa, it might be another light few days in the field for Shreyas.

Shashikanth stated that his side will look to keep the winning momentum going. “We don’t know what is in store for us at Goa, but we will go all out and try to get maximum points. We want to keep our momentum going through the season. The boys look good, and are high in confidence. However, we must not be complacent,” Shashikanth said.