Kaarthick gloves it right, thrice

And there was a round of criticism that followed him in Kanpur last week. But skipper Saurav Ganguly pleaded for some more time. ‘‘He has played just two Test matches, let him settle down,’’ said Ganguly on match-eve. The boy himself did not bother himself with the criticism. Instead, he just attempted to prove his captain’s faith in him well-placed. ‘‘I just have to do my job. So I just concentrated on my job today and will carry on the next day,’’ Kaarthick told The Indian Express after the day’s play.

And then, just two balls into the day, he was in action. Plucking Graeme Smith’s nick off Irfan Pathan from in front of first slip made Kaarthick ‘‘settle down’’. ‘‘It was the best part of the day. It happened early on and helped me settle down for the rest of the day.’’

‘‘A bit nervous’’ about playing at the Eden Gardens, Kaarthick, however, took a lot away with him after the first day where he played a part in three of the five wickets to fall. But despite that, Kaarthick says the exaggerated amount of reverse swing got him into trouble at times: ‘‘That was the toughest part. I have kept to many bowlers who can get the ball to reverse. But it was reversing a lot. I had to constantly watch out as both Zaheer and Irfan were just brilliant.’’

The spinners too tested Kaarthick, who at Kanpur was guilty of getting up a little too early while keeping to them. Today the bounce was more consistent and he was much more sure of himself.

He gloved three, but it could have been four but for umpire Simon Taufel not acknowledging a clear Zander de Bruyn snick off Harbhajan Singh. Though that would been the cherry on Kaarthick’s pie, he says, ‘‘I still had a pretty good day. Hope I contribute more in the match.’’