Ranji Trophy: Karnataka will aim to shrug off its disappointing start to the season

After a disappointing start to the tournament, Karnataka will be keen to get back on track with a strong showing against Tripura in its Ranji Trophy Elite ‘B’ match at SDNR Wadiyar Stadium here from Monday.

Karnataka, which has managed just two points from as many outings, will fancy its chances against Tripura, one of the weaker Elite sides, which comes into the fixture on the back of two defeats.

Rain, however, could disrupt Karnataka’s plans. There was a light drizzle in the city on Sunday morning, but it was not enough to prevent the teams from going through their practice sessions.

Karnataka will look to Vidwath Kaverappa to exploit any assistance the conditions offer the pacers. V. Vyshak’s express pace could trouble the Tripura batters, while Abhilash Shetty and Manvanth Kumar provide further options with the ball.

Manvanth, meanwhile, has proved his credentials as a lower-order batter, having struck a fluent 135 in the previous outing against Saurashtra.

In the absence of K.L. Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal and R. Smaran, the responsibility with the bat will once again rest on Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair and in-form opener Rohan Patil.

Stand-in captain Shreyas Gopal said Karnataka would continue to adopt a positive approach. “The thought process in a Karnataka team is to always go for a win,” Shreyas said.

The all-rounder admitted that Karnataka had missed a “couple of tricks” in conceding the first-innings lead to Saurashtra last week.

“We should have got the lead, especially in the last match. We missed a couple of tricks. But coming into this game, if we can put some pressure early on, we can slide our way to a first victory,” he said.

The 33-year-old, who took a blow to the hand against Saurashtra, said he was fit to play. Mayank, who did not bat in the second innings after being struck on the finger, was also match-fit, Shreyas added.