Players Details
Fixture & Results
Sorted Gowtham is ready to impress
Arindam Basu
20th October 2016
There is a certain calmness about Krishnappa Gowtham. The way he bowled during the game and after that for almost 30 minutes, before sauntering out of the ground. There was no bubbly exuberance after getting a wicket or raging angst at being sent to the ropes. He goes about his job quietly.
After spending almost four seasons in the winter of cricket wilderness, Krishnappa Gowtham is on a road to salvation and the lanky bowling all rounder from Karnataka believes this time he has more arrows in his quiver to keep him in the hunt.
Hungry and eager to show his improvement, Gowtham has been on song taking 3 for 97 against Jharkhand and now in the tie against Delhi he returned with figures of 3 for 26 on a day when Delhi got bundled out for 90.
“I have been practicing very hard. Now I am much more focussed and have more control over the situations,” Gowtham said at stumps on the opening day of the Ranji tie at Eden Gardens here today.
Asked how frustrating it was to be sidelined for almost four years, he said : “It is obviously frustrating. But that is a cricketer’s life. I never allowed that to demotivate me. I worked harder, trained harder and was determined to come back.”
Incidentally Gowtham got sidelined after the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy second quarter-final tie against Saurashtra, a match in which Cheteshwar Pujara scored 352 and Gowtham bled 206 runs before taking his wicket.
Asked on what aspects of his game he has improved, Gowtham said: “Its more a matter of the mind. I am more sorted within. I am more focussed and better prepared mentally before going into the match. I did some adjustments to my style but they are very minor.”
Asked about the exploits of the day against Delhi, Gowtham said: “We had a game plan and we stuck to it. We bowled in the right areas and kept a tight line. The wicket helped a bit in the morning, but it was the hard work of the team that showed results.”
At stumps Karnataka was 131 for three in reply to Delhi.
