Rahul Dravid’s belief in his young bowling talent Abhimanyu Mithun paid rich dividends on Wednesday as the lanky seamer tore apart UP’s batting with a five-wicket haul in his debut match, leaving Karnataka smelling an outright win.
Mithun has already won accolades from cricketing
greats like Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble. The 20-year-old bowler was on fire on Wednesday, not allowing UP batsmen to settle down with his disconcerting swing, leaving the hosts struggling at 214 for 8 at stumps on Day Two.
The pair of Mohd Amir Khan and Praveen Gupta salvaged some pride at the end of the day with an unbeaten 57-run stand for the ninth-wicket with UP still requiring 42 runs to avoid a follow-on. Everything seemed to be going right when UP began their run-chase. But, just when it seemed that UP were on the threshold of going into overdrive, Mithun struck.