Ranji Trophy 2019-20: We knew Siddharth would contribute in crunch time, says Karnataka coach

Karnataka has been the overwhelming favorites in the domestic circuit across formats. The side has now made it to the semi-finals of the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy. Karnataka have often been bolstered by contributions from crisis men. On the occasion of their quarter-final game against Jammu and Kashmir, it was 27-year-old KV Siddharth who came up with the goods.

At the Gandhi Science Memorial College, Siddharth produced not one but two outstanding knocks to help his side walk past their spirited opponents. The batter added vital 76 runs to his team's total of 206 in the first innings. And on day 4, when Karnataka had their noses just ahead of J&K, Siddharth played a gem of an innings, although he missed out on the three-figure mark by a couple of runs.

Karnataka coach Yere Goud was mighty impressed with his ward. In a conversation with Sportstar, Goud said:

"Siddharth's innings was very crucial because we needed a score of at least 200-plus. We knew he was going to contribute in difficult situations."

KL Rahul might be seen in whites in the Ranji semi-final.

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Siddharth's match-winning 98 will give a headache to the think-tank as seasoned campaigner KL Rahul makes a comeback to the set-up. However, skipper Karun Nair isn't sweating much and he praised the batter for bailing the side out of trouble.

"Really commendable effort," said Karnataka captain Karun Nair. "He was out injured for a long time. He has come back and continued the form he had last year. He’s converting starts into bigger scores. It’s now about getting those big hundreds. I’m sure he can get them in the coming games if he bats as well as he is."

Karun Nair.