Gujarat import Patels eight-for boosts Haryana

A year ago medium-pacer Harshal Patel was left to ponder over his exclusion from the Gujarat team when the Ranji Trophy squad was announced. In his mind,the Under-19 World Cup player had ticked all the right boxes

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

A year ago medium-pacer Harshal Patel was left to ponder over his exclusion from the Gujarat team when the Ranji Trophy squad was announced. In his mind,the Under-19 World Cup player had ticked all the right boxes.

He had also featured in a few one-dayers for his state and by then was fast gaining a reputation as a bowler,who owned a mean outswinger. Harshals exclusion,however,didnt go unnoticed.

On hearing that Harshal was ignored by the Gujarat selectors,Haryana Cricket Association secretary Anirudh Chaudhary,who was the manager during the Under-19 World Cup in 2010 and had seen the 21-year-old from close quarters,asked the medium-pacer to switch loyalties.

On Monday,at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore,Harshal showed that Chaudhary and Haryana cricket had invested in the right kind of talent.

Harshal produced his big outswingers to dismiss the top-order batsmen and also got the ball to move in late to scalp the middle and lower-order,including the in-form Stuart Binny bowled on way to finishing with figures of 8 for 40 in 16.5 overs.

The Karnataka batsmen failed to show the required patience against the young medium-pacer,who dished out a disciplined and skillful performance. Karnataka were bowled out for 151 and in reply Haryana were 120 for no loss at stumps and were in line to pull off what seems to be an upset in this quarterfinal game.

Harshal was elated after his performance. It is important day for me. Its not often that you pick up eight wickets in an innings. When I was part of the Gujarat set-up I didnt get as many chances as I would have liked. I am really happy that I have performed for Haryana in a knock-out game, Harshal said.

Cricket first

Story continues below this ad

Harshal took a big decision when he decided to pursue a career in cricket even though his family moved to the United States four years ago. Many of his close family members wanted him to move with them,but in spite a few early disappointments,Harshal remained loyal to his first love cricket. Individual performances are only counted when your team does well. Im hoping that my performance today helps the team advance, he added

Brief scores: Karnataka all out 151 in 49.5 overs Robin Uthappa 35; Harshal Patel 8/40 vs Haryana 120/0 in 38 overs Rahul Dewan batting 63,Nitin Saini batting 55