Karnataka captain Karun Nair was relieved as his team ended up on the winning side after a closely-fought Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Jammu-Kashmir this Monday (February 24) in Jammu.
The visitors eventually clinched victory by 167 runs but Karun & his men were made to toil throughout the game, especially after an insipid first half where they were bundled out for just 206 in the first innings.
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"It was pretty tricky for us," Sportstar quoted Nair as saying. "They were 107 for 2 at one point (in the first innings). To come back from there was really commendable. Everyone chipped in when it was required. We got that crucial lead which eased that pressure. It was a slight relief."
Karnataka's win set-up its semi-final clash with Bengal, starting Saturday (February 29) in Kolkata; another away fixture for a team that has reached this far in the Ranji Trophy in the last two seasons also, only to lose on both occasions, something Nair is determined to correct this time.
"They were close games and we just fell on the wrong side both times," he said. "Hopefully, we’ll be third time lucky. The message to the boys will be: if we find ourselves in a good position, it’s time to put our foot down and kill the game off."
For J&K, skipper Parvez Rasool felt it is the lack of big-game experience that cost his side as it failed to take the momentum forward after dominating the proceedings in Group C.
"From 192 for 7 to 192 all out…it was just a little inexperience that cost us. I felt Karnataka had given up at that point. If we had taken even a small lead, we would have dictated terms," said Rasool at the end of an inspirational campaign where youngsters in either department led his team's successful surge towards the knock-outs and promotion to Elite Group next season.
"We lost only two out of 10 matches all season,” the skipper added. “We won six games in the league stages. Even here, we dominated for two days. To bowl out a mighty team like Karnataka for 206 is a great effort. People travelled 300km from Srinagar to watch us here. That matters to us."
(Inputs from Sportstar)
