Ranji Trophy Final: Paras Dogra, KV Aneesh lock helmets as tempers fray

HUBBALLI: Even as Karnataka bowlers toiled on a wicket without juice, their contest against the Jammu and Kashmir batters wasn’t without spice. On Tuesday, the opening day of the Ranji Trophy final, there was no shortage of fierce looks and verbal exchanges between the two sides. The tension carried into Wednesday’s play.Though cloud cover brought some relief from the heat, tempers flared midway through the day when J&K skipper Paras Dogra got into a heated exchange with Karnataka substitute fielder KV Aneesh. Stationed at silly point, Aneesh had been vocal for a while. In the 101st over, just after Dogra had edged pacer Prasidh Krishna for boundary, he got into an altercation with Aneesh and in the heat of the moment headed the fielder’s helmet with his own.Senior Karnataka batter Mayank Agarwal moved swiftly to defuse the situation, stepping between the two players and urging Dogra to back away.The umpires intervened while other Karnataka players, including skipper Devdutt Padikkal, joined the discussion.Dogra soon offered an apology, which Aneesh didn’t appear to have accepted. There was another flashpoint later when Vyshak Vijaykumar and Kanhaiya Wadhawan brushed shoulders during a brief exchange.Wadhawan later described the incidents as part of the natural intensity of a high-stakes contest. “Sledging happened from both sides, but nothing intentional and we sorted it immediately,” he said.Dogra, who is likely to face disciplinary action for the helmet clash, played down the incident. “It was just a little heat of the moment, not a big thing. It’s all settled now. We all need a cooler there.”‘WE ARE IN A GOOD POSITION’Dogra, who scored a gritty 70, said the first-time finalists were satisfied with the position they had built. “We are in a good position and that’s what matters for us. We haven’t seen a target because we can get the result from the first innings lead. So we will try to bat as long as we can,” he said.