Dhawal Kulkarni began the season bowling well but not picking wickets to show for it. However, like the team he represents in the Ranji Trophy, the Mumbai pacer too has stepped up the game when it mattered most.
The 24-year-old has backed up his five-wicket haul in the semi-final, against Services, with a superb spell of swing and seam bowling on the first day of the final. Kulkarni took centre stage with figures of 4 for 24 in 21.3 overs as Saurashtra surrendered meekly for 148.
The bowler wore a pleasing smile after a successful day at the office. “I was feeling confident. I picked five wickets before this game and I carried that confidence into this match,” Kulkarni said.
“I was bowling well throughout the season and the only thing missing was the wickets. It's part of the game and I have to take it in the positive manner.”
The right-armer had the batsmen jumping and poking at the balls, especially in the first session. There were outside edges galore and some of his deliveries were too good for the bat’s edge to come close.
Had one of those edges converted into a wicket, Kulkarni would’ve bragged of back-to-back five-fors in knockout games. However, that wasn’t to be. “I would have felt great if I had got five wickets,” the young bowler said.
Kulkarni’s success in the innings was a fine combination of skills and extracting the most out of the helpful conditions. He acknowledged the assistance from the track and thanked his captain for winning the crucial toss.
“The pitch was good for the fast bowlers. Earlier on there was moisture in the wicket,” he said. “Looking at the wicket, we won the toss and decided to put them in first, which was a good decision.”
In what should come as good news for the beleaguered Saurashtra side, especially their pace bowlers, the Mumbai pacer said the wicket will get faster as the match progresses and will offer something to the pacers for two more days.
“The track will get quicker as it gets harder. The spinners will come into the picture on the fourth and fifth day,” said the Mumbai lad who has grown up playing cricket at the historic stadium.
Mumbai, as a team, has a penchant for big matches. Out of their 43 previous appearances in the Ranji finals, they have emerged victorious on 39 occasions. In this season their only win came against a relatively weaker Madhya Pradesh and they scraped their way to the final by amassing first-innings-lead points.
Kulkarni said it was the sole win of the season that pumped the team up. “The game against Madhya Pradesh, that was a crucial one, which charged us up and we have carried the momentum to the final,” he said.
