Shikhar Shetty came to the fore with a five-wicket haul.
| Photo Credit: Kiran Bakale
On the eve of Karnataka’s fifth-round Ranji Trophy clash against Chandigarh, captain Mayank Agarwal had insisted that left-arm spinner Shikhar Shetty was bowling far better than his numbers suggested.
“He might not have got (many) wickets, but he’s bowled really well,” Mayank had said.
Playing only his third First-Class match, Shikhar repaid his captain’s faith with an impressive all-round display in Karnataka’s innings victory. He struck a valuable 59 to help the side surge past 500 (547 for eight declared) and followed it up with returns of two for 43 and five for 61. His maiden fifty, his maiden five-for, and an innings win – all aligning like constellations on a clear night!
“I don’t think I’ve still processed it! Like, I’ve gotten a Ranji Trophy five-wicket haul! And yes, I have no words!” he gushed in his first media interaction after his breakthrough performance.
He said that contributing with the bat boosted his confidence with the ball. “It wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on. Contributing with the bat helped me with my confidence a lot when I was bowling. And I knew what lengths and pace to bowl. I was getting hit, but I made sure that I didn’t move away from my plans, he said.
He’d formed those plans from his batting experience. His innings, he explained, offered him cues for his bowling.
“If I had realised one thing while batting, it was that when the bowler bowled slower to you, you could adjust and play. It felt easier to bat. But when they bowled quicker, there was something happening, and I wasn’t able to play comfortably.
“I kept that in mind and experimented with it when I was bowling – to not bowl too many slower balls, and to focus mainly on bowling high-pace deliveries. I was bowling that odd slower ball in between, so that they don’t get used to my pace,” he said.
Published – November 19, 2025 11:13 pm IST
