Kartik leaves an indelible impression

By G. Viswanath

MUMBAI, OCT. 16. After two stints in the Zal Irani Cup match against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium, Murali Kartik left an indelible impression that marked him as the best left hand spinner in India. On a fresh wicket on the first day he took four for 73 and on a slightly wearing third and fourth day pitch he got into his act for a return of 9 for 70, the best ever in 38 Irani Cup matches. The 24-year-old's second innings effort pushed Ravi Shastri's 9 for 101, at Indore, to the second spot after exactly two decades.

Kartik played two Test matches against South Africa six months ago in Mumbai and Bangalore. He was capped by the selectors because he had the potential and six months later, he appears as a ready arm spinner keen to consolidate and establish his position in the national team for the Test matches.

Certain turn of events at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) bracketed him among the trio of villains who were asked to leave the Bangalore camp on disciplinary grounds, but in the forenoon of Monday, after the Rest skipper Venkatsai Laxman gave him the honour of leading the team back, he said all the wrong news about him was a creation of the media. ``That's the official version from the NCA. The fact is I was injured and I had to leave,'' said Kartik.

The reasons for Kartik's expulsion from the NCA ought not to be of news value or trigger another raging controversy now as he has abandoned all the NCA-related happenings. He became Laxman's key, nay, a match winning bowler, soon after he dismissed four of the top five Mumbai batsman last Friday. Three left arm spinners bowled in the match, the other two being Nilesh Kulkarni and Rajesh Pawar of Mumbai. Kulkarni bowled nearly 43 overs for his three wickets while Pawar bowled 27 for his two. Kartik bowled exactly 50 overs for his 13 wicket haul.

What differentiated the three spinners was Kartik's giving a definite clarity to his mode of bowling - he adhered to line and length, seldom giving an opportunity to cut and pull. He made the batsman drive and got the ball to turn and gain height. His spell on the opening day caught the attention of discerning and the men facing him wary.

The former Mumbai left arm spinner, Padmakar Shivalkar said, ``He (Kartik) was successful because he stuck to the basics. He pitched the ball on the spot, whereas Kulkarni and Pawar failed on this score. I even liked the way Sarandeep Singh (off-spinner) bowled. He even beat the batsman on the front foot, bowling straighter ones. He showed good control, while varying the flight. He should develop into a good spinner.''

``He (Kartik) is not yet there,'' said Bishen Singh Bedi during the India-South Africa Test at the Wankhede. ``What I like about Bedi and coach Gurcharan Singh is that they haven't praised me. Whenever he (Bedi) is in Delhi, he has always been there to help me at the National Stadium. When I was in Pakistan with the India `A' team, he was there at Rawalpindi. So I have never been short on advice from him,'' said Kartik.

``There was the lingering thoughts about whether I would be picked for the Irani Cup. It should not have been because to my knowledge I had to leave the NCA camp because of an injury to my bowling hand. It was not a disciplinary measure. There was good carry on the first day, but afterwards, the pitch became a slow turner. The Mumbai batsmen are known for grafting and making the rival bowlers bite the dust. But this time I thought some of them played poor shots. It's a good to start the season like this.''

Two seasons ago, Rest's Anil Kumble and Mumbai's Sairaj Bahutule had picked up 26 wickets - 13 each - on a turning track but the Wankhede pitch was not a bad as it was two years ago. Kartik's effort in the circumstances was splendid. He should be in the India XI for the Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka.

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