Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the scion of the Wadiyar dynasty, had hosted a dinner at his place in honour of the two sides on the eve of the final.
By late afternoon Wasim Jaffer looked grim sitting in the viewing area of the visitor’s dressing room.
Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the scion of the Wadiyar dynasty, had hosted a dinner at his place in honour of the two sides on the eve of the final.
The experienced Jaffer would have known that the Karnataka side wouldn’t be as hospitable on the field like their president was at the lavish dinner. Yet he decided to bat, a rather brave decision as the pitch had a coat of green.
From 0 for one to 100 for five and 233 all out — it was a forgettable batting performance by the 38-time champions. At the Gangothri Glades in Mysore, Mumbai lost five wickets before lunch as Karnataka’s fast bowlers backed themselves to humble the visiting batsmen on a green top prepared for the very purpose.
The fight came in the form of wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant. Not for the first time, Samant showed heart when everything seemed lost and made 67 off 157 balls. He added 37 with Ramesh Powar, 41 with Iqbal Abdulla and 45 with Dhawal Kulkarni after the
champions were precariously placed at 106 for six.
Karnataka though can’t afford to let their guard down. Early in the Karnataka innings, Kulkarni got one to hold its line and skipper Robin Uthappa only succeeded in sending the ball towards the slip cordon where his counterpart did the needful.
On this wicket hitting the right areas can yield benefits for bowlers and even late in the evening the Karnataka batsmen weren’t comfortable while playing out seven overs. If Ajit Agarkar, Kulkarni and Aavishkar Salvi can bowl with purpose and control like Karnataka pacemen R Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun did on Day One, this game could be far from over.
Kumar, the top wicket-taker this season, struck early. He removed Sahil Kukreja in the first over of the day and then picked up the wickets of Jaffer and Rahane in the third over of the innings. Onkar Khanvilkar and Abhishek Nayar added 64 runs for the fourth wicket before Mithun got the better of both of them.
Mumbai, tough as nails, fought back through their lower order that rallied around the experienced Samant. The last four wickets cost Karnataka 127 runs, a figure that could prove to be costly for the hosts if Mumbai’s bowlers whip up some verve on his sporting wicket. Skipper Uthappa is back in the hut and there is no Rahul Dravid around this time.
The Karnataka middle-order has a golden opportunity to seize control of the match. How the hosts bat on Day Two could well decide the fate of the game.
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