Aravind pulls a slow one

Karnataka pacer chips in with left-arm spin and Bangars wicket on a turning track

Sreenath Aravind confesses that he has no recollection of the time when he started bowling left-arm orthodox. Neither does he recall how and when he thought of adding this unusual variation to his left-arm seam up deliveries. All he remembers is that he got tired once of bowling fast in the nets,and started to bowl spin with a shortened run up. It became a habit,and now he has the confidence and support from the Karnataka team management to change his bowling trajectory,whenever the situation demands.

It is an odd habit to have; especially considering Aravind recently made it to the Indian ODI squad though he didnt play a game during the England series purely as a fast bowler.

But as Karthik Jeswanth,the coach of the visiting side,took a look at the slow turning soil of the Karnail Singh Stadium,he asked Aravind to share the spin responsibility along side KP Appanna. Appanna took five and Aravind two first as a pacer and the other as a spinner.

But it was Aravinds second wicket that brought on the biggest cheers from his camp,for the 27-year old had after all dismissed the widest bat in all of Railways Sanjay Bangars. A classical left-arm spinners wicket something that would have made the best international orthodoxies proud Aravind held it back as Bangar moved forward early,and the edge carried to a leaping Manish Pandey at gully.

Says Jeswanth: We went in with one specialist spinner as we knew that Aravind also has the ability to bowl spin. And he delivered today. It was a sucker punch that all but put an end to the Railways innings,as the hosts conceded their second straight follow-on in this Ranji season,this time failing short of Karnatakas first innings total of 347 by 213 runs. And for that,they will have to thank Appanna.

It was a truly memorable day for Appanna,one that started with the wicket of his very first delivery Railways opener Shreyas Khanolkar plumb in-front. And then his next over,Appanna got one to turn and jump,which Shivakant Shukla could only glove to short leg. By the end of the third session,the young left-arm orthodox reached his best domestic figures of 5/39 and by castling Murali Kartik,he also reached his first first-class milestone of 50 wickets.

Following on at stumps,Railways were 33 for two in their second innings still needing 180 runs to avoid an innings defeat. While Appanna was the best bowler in the Karnataka dressing room,Aravind was easily the most versatile. While he takes pride in being a fast bowler,Aravind does not feel that bowling spin from time to time is a crime. Ego,what ego. There is no ego here, he says. It started as fun but with the support of my coaches and my teammates,my ability gives the team another option.

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So does the Indian team management know of his dual personality? No,I didnt tell anybody. I want to be picked as a fast bowler. Spin or no spin,every fast bowler has an ego.

Brief scores: Karnataka 347 all out in 114.3 overs R Uthappa 117,S Binny 67; M Kartik 5/88 vs Railways all out 134 in 53.5 overs S Bangar 36; KP Appanna 5/39,A Mithun 3/29,S Aravind 2/25 amp; f/0 33/2