BENGALURU: A few seasons ago, V Koushik was dropped from the Ranji Trophy probables. The KSCA selection think-tank deemed him too old — he was approaching 30 then. Another argument with reasonable justification was his lack of pace — his fastest hovered around 130kmph. But a crucial factor the selectors often missed was that the mechanical engineer used precision and discipline to make up for his lack of pace.
Koushik forced his way back into the team with a happy combination of solid performances in the state league and the unavailability of other pacers. Over the past two seasons, he has become the third cog in Karnataka’s pace attack with Vidwath Kaverappa and Vyshak Vijaykumar taking the top two slots.
With Kaverappa and Vyshak unavailable Koushik has led Karnataka’s pace attack — and how — in the Ranji Trophy fixture against Bengal. On Thursday at the M Chinnaswamy stadium , the 32-year-old snagged the third five-wicket haul (5/38 in 25 overs) of his career to help the hosts bowl out Bengal for 301 on Day 2.
Koushik soldiered on despite the lack of support. Abhilash Shetty, making his debutant, lacked rhythm while Vidhyadhar Patil sprayed the ball around. Leggie Shreyas Gopal was his ally with a three-wicket haul, which ensured Bengal added only 50 runs to their overnight tally.
Among the batters too, Karnataka found a saviour, whose story is similar to that of Koushik’s. Branded a T20 specialist with big-hitting skills, Abhinav Manohar was ignored for the red-ball variety until the previous game against Bihar. In Patna, he offered a glimpse of how he could convert his white-ball skills into red-ball assets.
Against Bengal, as the more established players gifted their wickets away, the middle-order bat put fear into the Bengal bowlers during his unbeaten 73-ball 50 (6x4; 1x6). The knock helped ease nerves, although the sword still hung heavy. At stumps, Karnataka were 155/5, still 146 runs in deficit.
The narrative could have been very different for the home team on a cloudy day if they had not lost wickets in a heap. Sujay Sateri, Mayank Agarwal and Manish Pandey all perished for the addition of a mere 11 runs.
Sateri was looking to cut pacer R Vivek (2/44) but only offered an edge which wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha gleefully pouched. Agarwal, who lived dangerously early in his innings, did well to see off the new ball with Kishan Bedare, who came in as a concussion substitute for an injured Nikin Jose. But just when he was settling in, Agarwal chopped a Suraj Jaiswal (2/53) delivery onto his stumps, ending his stay.
With the home side tottering at 63/4, the onus was on Pandey but the seasoned campaigner lasted all of two deliveries, a half-hearted loft off Vivek finding Shuvam Dey at mid-on.
This brought Abhinav out and he immediately got down to business. Timing is the hallmark of a batsman in form and Abhinav’s was impeccable. Anything in the slot was quickly dispatched to the fence — usually all along the ground.
His partnership with R Smaran (26) helped calm nerves, but it ended at 34 when Smaran mis-timed a cut and was taken by Sudip Chatterjee at first slip. It’s tempting to say Karnataka batters were done in by poor shot selection, but Bengal’s bowlers were disciplined and hit the deck consistently which made Abhinav’s knock even more valuable. He built an unconquered 58-run association with Sheyas Gopal (23 batting), which offered Karnataka hope.
SCOREBOARD
Bengal (I innings; O/N 249/5): Shahbaz c Sateri b Koushik 59, Wriddhiman Saha c Smaran b Shetty 6, Aamir c Shetty b Shreyas 18, Suraj Jaiswal b Shreyas 16, Ishan Porel c Agarwal b Koushik 5, R Vivek (not out) 1.
Extras (B-2; LB-6; W-3; NB-2): 13. Total: (all out; 101.5 overs) 301
Fall of wickets: 6-254, 7-254, 8-286, 9-299.
Bowling: V Koushik 25-12-38-5, Abhilash Shetty 20-6-62-2, Vidyadhar Patil 19-4-63-0, Shreyas Gopal 25.5-2-87-3, Hardik Raj 12-1-43-0.
Karnataka (I innings): Mayank Agarwal b Jaiswal 17, Kishan Bedare c Shahbaz b Porel 23, Sujay Sateri c Sahan b Vivek 10, Smaran c Chatterjee b Jaiswal 26, Manish Pandey c Dey b Vivek 0, Abhinav Manohar (batting) 50, Shreyas Gopal (batting) 23. Extras (LB-5; W-1) 6. Total (5 wkts; 51 over) 155.
Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-52, 3-62, 4-63, 5-97.
Bowling: Ishan Porel 15-3-38-1, Suraj Jaiswal 17-2-53-2, R Vivek 15-0-3-44-2, Shahbaz 1-0-6-0, Avilin Ghosh 3-1-9-0.
Koushik forced his way back into the team with a happy combination of solid performances in the state league and the unavailability of other pacers. Over the past two seasons, he has become the third cog in Karnataka’s pace attack with Vidwath Kaverappa and Vyshak Vijaykumar taking the top two slots.
With Kaverappa and Vyshak unavailable Koushik has led Karnataka’s pace attack — and how — in the Ranji Trophy fixture against Bengal. On Thursday at the M Chinnaswamy stadium , the 32-year-old snagged the third five-wicket haul (5/38 in 25 overs) of his career to help the hosts bowl out Bengal for 301 on Day 2.
Koushik soldiered on despite the lack of support. Abhilash Shetty, making his debutant, lacked rhythm while Vidhyadhar Patil sprayed the ball around. Leggie Shreyas Gopal was his ally with a three-wicket haul, which ensured Bengal added only 50 runs to their overnight tally.
Among the batters too, Karnataka found a saviour, whose story is similar to that of Koushik’s. Branded a T20 specialist with big-hitting skills, Abhinav Manohar was ignored for the red-ball variety until the previous game against Bihar. In Patna, he offered a glimpse of how he could convert his white-ball skills into red-ball assets.
Against Bengal, as the more established players gifted their wickets away, the middle-order bat put fear into the Bengal bowlers during his unbeaten 73-ball 50 (6x4; 1x6). The knock helped ease nerves, although the sword still hung heavy. At stumps, Karnataka were 155/5, still 146 runs in deficit.
The narrative could have been very different for the home team on a cloudy day if they had not lost wickets in a heap. Sujay Sateri, Mayank Agarwal and Manish Pandey all perished for the addition of a mere 11 runs.
Sateri was looking to cut pacer R Vivek (2/44) but only offered an edge which wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha gleefully pouched. Agarwal, who lived dangerously early in his innings, did well to see off the new ball with Kishan Bedare, who came in as a concussion substitute for an injured Nikin Jose. But just when he was settling in, Agarwal chopped a Suraj Jaiswal (2/53) delivery onto his stumps, ending his stay.
With the home side tottering at 63/4, the onus was on Pandey but the seasoned campaigner lasted all of two deliveries, a half-hearted loft off Vivek finding Shuvam Dey at mid-on.
This brought Abhinav out and he immediately got down to business. Timing is the hallmark of a batsman in form and Abhinav’s was impeccable. Anything in the slot was quickly dispatched to the fence — usually all along the ground.
His partnership with R Smaran (26) helped calm nerves, but it ended at 34 when Smaran mis-timed a cut and was taken by Sudip Chatterjee at first slip. It’s tempting to say Karnataka batters were done in by poor shot selection, but Bengal’s bowlers were disciplined and hit the deck consistently which made Abhinav’s knock even more valuable. He built an unconquered 58-run association with Sheyas Gopal (23 batting), which offered Karnataka hope.
SCOREBOARD
Bengal (I innings; O/N 249/5): Shahbaz c Sateri b Koushik 59, Wriddhiman Saha c Smaran b Shetty 6, Aamir c Shetty b Shreyas 18, Suraj Jaiswal b Shreyas 16, Ishan Porel c Agarwal b Koushik 5, R Vivek (not out) 1.
Extras (B-2; LB-6; W-3; NB-2): 13. Total: (all out; 101.5 overs) 301
Fall of wickets: 6-254, 7-254, 8-286, 9-299.
Bowling: V Koushik 25-12-38-5, Abhilash Shetty 20-6-62-2, Vidyadhar Patil 19-4-63-0, Shreyas Gopal 25.5-2-87-3, Hardik Raj 12-1-43-0.
Karnataka (I innings): Mayank Agarwal b Jaiswal 17, Kishan Bedare c Shahbaz b Porel 23, Sujay Sateri c Sahan b Vivek 10, Smaran c Chatterjee b Jaiswal 26, Manish Pandey c Dey b Vivek 0, Abhinav Manohar (batting) 50, Shreyas Gopal (batting) 23. Extras (LB-5; W-1) 6. Total (5 wkts; 51 over) 155.
Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-52, 3-62, 4-63, 5-97.
Bowling: Ishan Porel 15-3-38-1, Suraj Jaiswal 17-2-53-2, R Vivek 15-0-3-44-2, Shahbaz 1-0-6-0, Avilin Ghosh 3-1-9-0.
You may also like
We've found a £50 sequin mini dress perfect for Christmas parties – it gets 'lots of compliments'
Caitlin Clark breaks silence on joining rival basketball league with two-word comment
WW2 buff creates ultimate 1940s man-cave in his garden
Major Gen Bakshi Visits North East Frontier Railway Headquarters To Review Strategic Projects
Nine more Bangladeshi nationals apprehended in Tripura
