Krishnappa Gowtham’s mantra: #RiseandGrind

Dindigul, December 11: Karnataka allrounder K Gowtham believes in “rise and grind”. Almost every social media post of his concludes with the hashtag #RiseandGrind. “Till I feel I am done, I need to keep rising and fighting. You do rise up but you need to grind it out. That's my mantra,” says Gowtham.

And over the last few seasons, the off-spinning all-rounder has risen to the challenge on numerous occasions and has been grinding it out in the domestic circuit. A regular in the IPL over the last couple of years and in the India A set up, Gowtham, who recently tied the knot with Archana Sundar, came up with an exceptional all-round show (51 & 6/110) against old rivals Tamil Nadu here at the NPR College Grounds, Dindigul.

Recently traded to Kings XI Punjab for IPL 2020, it was Gowtham’s swashbuckling fifty off just 39 balls (4x4s, 4x6s) in Karnataka’s first innings with the bat on Day 2 followed by a brilliant spell of bowling against a powerful Tamil Nadu batting unit that helped Karnataka grab the crucial 29-run first-innings lead on Day 3 as part of the ongoing Ranji Trophy.

Gowtham, who has come up with quite a few aggressive cameos in the IPL and for Karnataka, said he always backs himself to do the job with the bat.

“That's the way I bat and I back my instinct with whatever limited talent I have. I just go with that mindset,” he added.

For someone who has made more of an impression in T20 cricket, Gowtham has 132 wickets in 36 first-class matches with nine five-wicket hauls. Gowtham believes adapting to various formats is vital.

“As a professional, you need to adapt to any situation. When it's T20s, I do bowl like a T20 player. In one-dayers, I do bowl those 60 balls according to the situation. When it's a longer format, I just calm myself more and I just think of my process. I don't hurry up to get a wicket. I need to work to get a wicket. It's all about being smart and learning with every ball you bowl.

“It's just the mindset (change from white ball to red ball). I am thinking of trying to bowl those good balls. Rest is left to the pitch and batsmen,” he added.

Gowtham was patient early on as the TN openers M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund showed class and Gowtham knew he had to play the waiting game. Once he trapped Vijay, Gowtham was a different bowler altogether. He stuck to his plans of bowling at the stumps, using his height to good effect extracting bounce and he broke the back of the TN batting unit.

The fact that Gowtham accounted for five of the top six TN batsmen - Vijay, Abhinav, Vijay Shankar, Dinesh Karthik and N Jagadeesan - showed the class of the Karnataka offie.

Having performed admirably in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 to bring about an excellent start to the domestic season, a good all-round performance in IPL 2020 and his striking abilities with the bat could well bring Gowtham in contention for the next year’s T20 World Cup squad.

But for now, Gowtham is just enjoying his cricket. “Whatever I can do is go out and perform. You need to enjoy your game and that's what I am doing. I did whatever I could with the bat in the chances I got, be it in Deodhar Trophy... If I get a chance to play for my country, I will do my best,” added the 31-year-old.