Karnataka coach Vinay Kumar praises Karun

For the third straight season, Karnataka has emerged with no more than a point from its Ranji Trophy opener.

But against Andhra on Wednesday in Mulapadu near here, it may not be that bad a result, for it missed all five of its frontline bowlers because of injuries, and handed debuts to three.

If anything, its top-order should have fared better in the first innings, giving a fledgling bowling unit some cushion.

“There were many positives, especially the way the debutants played,” insisted coach R. Vinay Kumar. “Manvanth [Kumar] played a crucial knock in the second innings (44), and Madhav Bajaj also batted well with Karun [Nair].

“The way Karun batted, leading from the front in the second innings, and Smaran’s debut as captain and the composure he showed, were positives.

“In bowling, the lengths could have been much better. But they don’t have much experience. The more they play, they will get better,” the former captain added.

Vinay’s Andhra counterpart Gary Stead was happy with three points.

“Karnataka was last year’s finalist. If you see the 1100-odd runs scored and 33 wickets picked, there was some hard cricket played. We were under a bit of pressure in the final innings and I am proud of the way the boys stood up.”

The former New Zealand coach reserved special praise for S.V. Rahul, 19, and Revanth Reddy, 22, who scored more than half of Andhra’s runs.

“Rahul has a wonderful temperament, and he showed what he can do against a big side like Karnataka, which is great for his development. Revanth can play all three formats, and he’s naturally aggressive. But he also showed a different side of his game. They could both be playing U-23 still, but to be with us is exciting for our future.”