Rahul Dravid, the cynosure of all eyes, helped himself to a
typically even-paced fifty and Karnataka ended the first day on 329 for 4.
The Bulletin by Anand Vasu10-Jan-2007
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Robin Uthappa cracked his fourth century of the season, taking his
first-class tally to a massive 831runs this season, as Karnataka stormed
to a strong position against Saurashtra in their Ranji Trophy match at
Rajkot. Rahul Dravid, the cynosure of all eyes, helped himself to a
typically even-paced fifty and Karnataka ended the first day on 329 for 4.After winning the toss and choosing to bat, with a steady stream of people
coming into the ground to get a glimpse of Dravid Karnataka got off to a poor start. There was a bit of assistance for the fast bowlers early on and Sandip Maniar got one ball to swing away from the bat late enough to pick up Barrington Rowland’s edge. For
a second Dravid, who has walked out to bat at No. 3 for India with pretty
much nothing on the board all season, must have thought, here we go again.
But C Raghu went in at the fall of the first wicket, leaving Dravid with
more time on the balcony.Raghu, who has a wide array of strokes, was careful in getting his eye in,
and ensured that he saw the new ball off. The best attempts of Maniar and
Sandeep Jobanputra were not good enough to breach the defences, and it
hardly helped that Saurashtra were not latching onto the chances they were
creating.Uthappa, who began confidently, striking the ball powerfully through
cover, continued at a fast clip, rarely slowing down. Even in the initial
stages, with the ball doing a bit, Uthappa was assured in his strokeplay
and the footwork was never hesitant as he collected boundaries almost at
will. In the last Ranji match he had torn the Tamil Nadu batting attack to
shreds, and here he seemed intent on doing the same to Saurashtra.The lunch break broke Uthappa’s charge, and when the players walked off
the field, he had 86 to his name, while Raghu had motored along nicely to
48. The loss of the early wicket was put well behind. When the
players came back after lunch Uthappa wasted no time – literally – in
getting to his hundred. Two fours and a big six, off the first three balls
that Kamlesh Makvana sent down, took Uthappa to his century. But he was soon out to SP Jobanputra and Saurashtra may have let out a collective sigh of relief.Out walked Dravid, and though this wasn’t exactly Durban, with Andre Nel,
Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini steaming in, he settled into his usual
rhythm. He left the ball well early on, defended stoutly when the ball
threatened the stumps, and only went after what was loose. Raghu (83), who
had put on 167 for the second wicket with Uthappa, added almost 50 with
Dravid for the third, before he swept and missed and was trapped in front.Subsequently, when Dravid attempted to sweep a loopy offbreak, missed and was bowled,
there might have been disappointment for the few hundred people gathered
at the Madhavrao Scindia Stadium to watch India’s captain bat, but for one
man, it was an absolute dream come true. For Makvana, the 23-year-old
offspinner, it was a huge day just bowling to Dravid, forget about picking
up his wicket. It’s not often that the son of a groundsman gets to bowl to
one of the best batsmen in the world.Kamlesh, the elder son of Rasiklal Makvana, the man who has been the
groundsman at this stadium in Rajkot for more than two-and-a-half decades,
has been coming to this ground, initially called the Municipal Stadium,
since he was a toddler. In fact, he has even worked on the ground himself
– as casual labour – assisting his father.Rasiklal has been responsible for the pitch, the outfield and the general
upkeep of the ground for as long as even the old timers remember. He was
initially with the fire brigade in Rajkot – that was what he was trained
for – but over the years he had gained experience in working with cricket
grounds. Cricket runs in the family and while Kamlesh has
actually gone on to play first-class cricket for Saurashtra, his younger
brother Vipul, a wicketkeeper batsman, is doing the rounds in Under-19
cricket.With Dravid gone the crowd began to trickle out, but Karnataka lost none
of their focus. Yere Goud (38 not out) and Thilak Naidu (30 not out) dug
themselves in, and a Saurashtra attack that had lost one of its key
bowlers, Rakesh Shruv, who fractured his hand fielding, could do little to
either pick up wickets or stem the flow of runs. When the day ended with
Karnataka on an imposing score, there was plenty of hard work left in the game for
Saurashtra.
