Ranji Trophy: Vinay Kumar aims to continue Karnataka's winning streak

While most teams in the Group 'A' of Ranji Trophy are still slugging it out to clinch the knock-out berths, Karnataka breezed through to the next stage by stamping their authority

Invincible would be an appropriate tag for Karnataka. While most teams in the Group 'A' of Ranji Trophy are still slugging it out to clinch the knock-out berths, Karnataka breezed through to the next stage by stamping their authority. The defending champions already have four outright wins out of seven matches and have conceded the first innings lead only once (against Baroda at Mysore last month).

So, what makes them unbeatable? Skipper R Vinay Kumar explained: "We have stuck to the same bunch of players since the past few seasons. Most of them have got good experience of playing at this level. We are also thinking of higher goals, so smaller targets are taken care of by themselves.


R Vinay Kumar

These are the reasons why we are doing well." The fact that opposition teams don't play on their mind is a major plus point, according to the Karnataka skipper. "We don't think about our opposition. We only think of the best we can do against that side. I think that is a major factor. Everyone gets a free hand to play their natural game.

'There's no pressure'
"There is no pressure from anyone — the coach, skipper, the team management or the association. That is why we are performing well consistently," added Vinay Kumar.

This consistency helped Karnataka create history in the last season when they beat Mumbai outright for the first time in 22 attempts. "That win was really special. It was a great feeling to beat Mumbai. It was a good confidence booster as well for us. We want to give our best here. We are treating this game as a pre-quarter-final," said Vinay Kumar.

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