Vinay Kumar guided Karnataka to their second Ranji trophy title in a row with an all-round performance. They have become the only team since Mumbai to retain the title more than once when they defeated Tamil Nadu by an innings and 217 runs at the Wankhede Stadium. The first day and the first innings were crucial in deciding the outcome of the game. The Karnataka captain picked a fifer to bowl Tamil Nadu out for 134 while Karun Nair (328) and Lokesh Rahul (188) played important knocks to take the team to a mammoth 628-run first innings lead after being left reeling on 16 for three. Reflecting on the match, Vinay said, “I won’t say it was easy. In the first innings we bowled really well and that’s the reason we have got this result. Had they got around 300-350 runs it would have been difficult. They are a good side. They bowled really well but we tackled them well as a batting unit.” Karnataka relied on a seam attack going into the final which helped the result. Explaining the strategy, Vinay said, “In the final we wanted to go with the extra seamer because we thought that they will definitely struggle against the seamers because they were playing on turners (earlier),” he said. Leading from the front, the captain claimed a fifer to bowl the opposition out and finished as the joint highest wicket-taker in the tournament at the end of the game. Speaking about his own performance, Vinay said, “I am happy. For me, the team comes first. I wanted to win the Ranji Trophy and my performance also contributed. I am also working hard to come back into the Indian team and every match is very important for me. I will always try to give my best and perform well. Over all batting bowling is coming good for me which makes me happy.” Further while discussing the team’s performance through the tournament, Vinay said, “It is many years of hard work, I would say. Last year when we won the Ranji Trophy we worked really hard as a group. When we lost to Mumbai, we were growing as a team. The confidence level, maturity and everything came good in the last season,” he said. “Then we played Ranji trophy and winning it really helped us to motivate ourselves to perform this year. We were taking it one game at a time and not thinking much about retaining the trophy. Our goal was just to try and win every game that made our goal (journey) easier and this is the result.” Vinay admitted that it was a different experience to be the team’s bowling spearhead and the captain. “There is a difference but I am keeping it simple,” he said. “When I took over captaincy, I told myself when I am bowling, I am first a bowler and I don’t think much about the captaincy. I need to give results to the team. When I finish bowling then I will think about strategy. That really helped me. There is more pressure but I am enjoying it.” Speaking about the momentous occasion and the feat that they have achieved, Vinay said, “Winning Ranji trophy is a big achievement. It is a dream. When I started playing cricket we used always follow the Ranji trophy and it was my goal to win Ranji trophy. Winning it back to back is definitely a proud moment for me. Asked about Nair, who played the vital knock which tipped the balance in Karnataka’s favour, Vinay said, “He is a very good player last year he was the key for us to win the Ranji Trophy. This year he was struggling a bit and all the selectors and management backed him. You can see the result. In the final, after losing four wickets early you need character to perform.” Karnataka will now take on the Rest of India team and look to defend the Irani Cup in the match beginning March 17, 2015. Asked about the next challenge Vinay said, “We are not thinking much about the Irani Cup. The best part of our team is that there is no pressure at all. Before this game here also the boys were normal, there wasn’t tension. Before the game I told the team, this is the best thing in our team, that I don’t see anyone tense, and is a big positive for us. The Irani Cup us a big game for us and we will take it as a game at a time.