Lucknow: Uttarakhand has reached the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy twice since its inception in 2018. This time they performed better and reached the semi-finals of India’s premier domestic tournament. However, they failed to take the final step towards the title race as Karnataka defeated them in the last four overs with a huge first-innings lead.
Although the team was disappointed with the semi-final result, Uttarakhand head coach Manish Jha was proud of the team’s performance.
“As a team, it was a big challenge for us to break through the quarter-finals and reach the semi-finals. We tried our best but things didn’t go our way against Karnataka. Our target now is to reach the final next year and lift the trophy for the first time. But overall, it has been a very good journey for us,” Jha said.
Jha believes Uttarakhand’s journey to the semi-finals has been a huge learning curve.
He admitted that a lack of big-game experience had hampered their performance in the Final Four clash. “We have played the quarter-finals before and we treated it like another game. We wanted to take the same approach in the semi-finals. But after we got to the semi-finals we were very emotional in the dressing room. I think we got carried away by that emotion in the semi-finals. We were not able to capitalize on the small advantage we created in the semi-finals and that let us down,” admitted the coach.
Despite their semi-final exit, Jha believes the future of Uttarakhand cricket is bright.
“Our left-arm spinner Mayank Mishra (59 weeks) is the highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy this season. Kunal Chandela is one of the top ten run-getters in the club. We have youngsters like Lakshya Raichandani and Aditya Rawat who have huge potential. These players are eager to play for India. Players from our state don’t get much exposure. But they showed their mettle by keeping their nerve and delivering when it mattered.”
