For the small but enthusiastic crowd that gathered at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on a chilly Saturday morning, it was the best possible result.
To their delight, Karnataka defeated Punjab by an innings and 207 runs in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group-C encounter. Punjab captain Shubman Gill, a favorite of the Indian crowd, scored a beautiful hundred (102, 171 b, 14 x 4, 3 x 6) to return to form after a difficult two months.
However, this may not be much for individual teams. The win and the extra point took Karnataka’s tally to 19 – with a game remaining against table-toppers Haryana – but its progress will depend on results elsewhere. Punjab, on the other hand, is out of the competition (11 points, six matches).
In fact, the writing was on the wall for Punjab right from the moment it was launched in a 55-pack on the first morning. Saturday, if anything, was a test of fighting spirit. And except for Gill, all the others failed.
From an overnight 24 for two – a huge drift of 396 runs – Punjab were converted to 213. Gill and Jassinder Singh negotiated the first hour long before Yashovardhan Parantap, who, in his second First-Class appearance, opened the contest.
The 21-year-old pacer trapped Jassindra in the lead and Ramandeep Singh was bowled after the batsman made a strong drive and moved Sanvir Singh’s stumps. Diving Devdutt Padikkal caught Pukhraj Mann slipping off V. Koushik in the first over and scored 84 for 6.
When he ran out of partners, Gill became expansive. He pushed left-arm pacer Abhilash Shetty through cover and lifted him to the ground for two sixes. There was also a patented ‘half-pull, half-steer’ mechanism for the mid-wicket boundary.
At 57 KV, Aneesh took a chance on Gully and Gill took it. He went back to the nineties by hitting speedster Prasidh Krishna for a majestic maximum after a long break. Koushik’s delicate hit to the back fence took him to 96 before a powerful double brought the century.
Gill’s fall came when he tried to row leggie Shreyas Gopal and was adjudged a leg early. Frustrated, he threw the bat up in the air because he thought he had caught the ball. But even if he had survived, it would have been mostly academic.
