Despite thumping win of an innings and 217 runs over Tamil Nadu, Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar does not believe it was a cakewalk to retain the Ranji Trophy title
Karnataka celebrate retaining the Ranji Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday
Karnataka retained their Ranji Trophy crown in sterling fashion as they destroyed Tamil Nadu by an innings and 217 runs at Wankhede Stadium yesterday.
Karnataka celebrate retaining the Ranji Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pics/Suresh KK
R Vinay Kumar's team bowled out Tamil Nadu in their second innings for 411 in 107.5 overs during the final session of Day Five to lift their eighth title. After the Chennai outfit were bundled out for 134 on the opening day, the boys from Bangalore scored a massive 762 thanks to a triple century effort from Karun Nair.
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The massive victory margin notwithstanding, Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar did not believe it was an easy win. "I would not say it was an easy final. In the first innings, we bowled really well to get them out early and that's why we clinched this result.
If they would have got somewhere around 300 or 350, it would have been difficult for us. They are a very good side and bowled really well, but we tackled them very well as a batting unit," said Vinay Kumar, who scored a century and claimed seven wickets in the game.
Karnataka's KL Rahul clicks a picture of R Vinay Kumar and his wife Richa yesterday
Karnataka have been the most consistent team on the domestic circuit for the past couple years. Along with the Ranji Trophy, they also defended the one-day Vijay Hazare Trophy. Elaborating on the reason for their consistent performances, Vinay Kumar said: "I would put it down to hard work for many years. The confidence and maturity came good in the last season. Winning the Ranji Trophy helped us to motivate ourselves and perform this year as well."
Nair, who was awarded the man of the match for his 328, earned high praise from his skipper: "Karun was the main reason behind our Ranji Trophy win last year. This year, he was struggling a bit but the selectors and team management backed him. After losing four wickets (31 for four) you need character to perform in those kind of situations," said Vinay Kumar.
Tamil Nadu captain Abhinav Mukund was gracious in defeat. He said: "There is no shame in losing to this side… a very good side. They played really good over five days. Obviously, there are areas to work for us but there is a light of hope in this team that I see. The youngsters are coming through and there are a lot of positives for us."
Brief scores
Tamil Nadu 134 & 411 all out (Vijay Shankar 103, Dinesh Karthik 120; Shreyas Gopal 4-126) lost to Karnataka 762 (Karun Nair 328, KL Rahul 188, Vinay Kumar 105*) by an innings and 217 runs
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