Karnataka clinches its maiden title
It’s the first trophy we have got at U23 level; we just need to carry this momentum and win as many as we can, says skipper Smaran
arnataka won its maiden Col. C.K. Nayudu (U23) Trophy after overcoming Uttar Pradesh by virtue of having secured the firstinnings lead, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Wednesday.
The victory comes less than two months after Karnataka clinched the Cooch Behar (U19) Trophy, helping complete the redball double in agegroup cricket, also for the first time.
So special was the victory that it probably deserved a toast. But in the absence of champagne, the boys and the coaching staff made do with packaged drinking water, poking
Kholes in the bottle cap with the help of shoe spikes. Little did they realise that in the Bengaluru of today, water is more precious than spirit. Skipper R. Smaran, though, was elated with the win. “We have been waiting for a long time and it’s a very proud moment for Karnataka,” he said. “It’s the first trophy we have got at U23 level. Earlier, we used to come, play knockouts and go. Now that we have won this, it is a stepping stone. We just need to carry this momentum and win as many as we can.”
The cricket that transpired before all the celebrations wasn’t sparkling. Karnataka, starting from an overnight 444 for five was bowled out for 585, but not before K.V. Aneesh helped himself to a fine doublecentury (214, 273b, 18x4, 6x6). Chasing a mammoth 805, UP threatened to fold and give the host the added satisfaction of an outright win. Pacer Manvanth Kumar (5/36) had UP opener Rituraj Sharma off the second ball of the innings before going on to reduce the visitors to 34 for three.
But a 103run partnership for the fifth wicket between Swastik (67, 78b, 7x4, 3x6) and Vipraj Nigam (73, 54b, 9x4, 2x6) arrested the slide. UP eventually finished on 174 for six, with the game called off roughly an hour before close.
The scores: