da bet esporte： For most parts of the day, Saurashtra’s batsmen were comfortable in the middle before ending the day at 272 for 5 in the second quarter-final in Rajkot
The Report by Siddarth Ravindran in Rajkot06-Jan-2013
ScorecardA man in a Narendra Modi mask was among the spectators who turned up•ESPNcricinfo Ltd
All the pre-match talk had centred on how the pitch would behave at theSaurashtra University Ground in Rajkot. With no first-class matches playedat the venue so far, neither captain knew how the track would behave. Theground had been used so little that even the scorers didn’t know what thetwo bowling ends are called, and the Karnataka manager wondered whether itwould be an under-prepared wicket.All those worries proved unfounded as though the outfield was a bit bumpyand the dressing rooms were pretty basic, the surface had little in it totrouble the batsmen, and Karnataka’s bowlers struggled to maintain anysustained pressure through the day. Still, they managed to prise out fivewickets and kept Saurashtra to 272 for 5, a total that will not worry thevisitors too much.Sheldon Jackson, the 26-year-old batsman who has finally established himself in the Ranji side this season nearly seven years after making his domestic one-day debut, made his fifth fifty-plus score of the campaign to lead Saurashtra’s effort. He pounced on the many short balls offered to him by the spinners, regularly picking boundaries with powerful cut shots. When the quicks pitched it short, he was quick to pull, as he showed Abhimanyu Mithun in the first over after lunch.After tea, with the sun out, a pleasant breeze blowing across the ground,and Jackson’s partnership with Aarpit Vasavada for the fifth wicket nearinga century, Saurashtra’s batsmen had little to worry about. Jackson himselfwas closing in on his second hundred for the season, and with KP Appannabowling defensively at his pads with six men on the leg-side, a bit ofpatience would have got him there. Instead, he swung Appanna towards widelong-off; Lokesh Rahul sprinted back and to his left from mid-on and with the high ball swirling in the wind, completed a superbly judged tumbling catch that had the entire Karnataka team running towards him in joy.It was Rahul’s fourth catch of the day, and sucked the momentum out of the innings for the final 45 minutes of the day. Vasavada remained unbeaten on49, shelving the strokes he displayed before Jackson’s dismissal to ensureSaurashtra lost only five wickets on the day.For most parts of the day, Saurashtra’s batsmen were comfortable in the middle. Their most important player, Cheteshwar Pujara, who delivered victory in their must-win final league match last week with an aggressivedouble-century began in the same vein today. He took Stuart Binny for 14 inthe over before the first drinks break, with two cuts behind point and awhip off the pads. He had sprinted to 37 off 48 when he flicked K Gowthamto leg slip, to the elation of Karnataka’s fielders.The day’s play took place with the players aware that India’s ODI squad forthe England series would be picked in the evening, with Pujara and perhapsMithun standing a chance of selection. Pujara had only a cameo role, afterMithun provided one for the highlight reel by breaking Sagar Jogiani’s offstump into two in the ninth over of the day. Mithun returned to get thewicket of captain Jaydev Shah as well, who poked a catch to gully.The other opener was Saurashtra’s most experienced player, Shitanshu Kotak,who played a typically patient innings, leaving plenty outside off. He usedhis feet well against the spinners, skipping down the track often as heprogressed to 46 before he too gave a catch to Rahul.It was a day both teams won’t complain too much about, and with the pitchplaying true on the first day, the focus over the next few days will shiftto the actual cricket instead of the nature of the surface.