Hubballi, February 25 Jammu and Kashmir captain Paras Dogra downplayed the on-field incident in which he head-butted Karnataka player KV Aneesh during the second day of the Ranji Trophy final here.
Dogra had a heated exchange with substitute fielder Aneesh and head-butted him on the helmet shortly after hitting a four off Prasidh Krishna.
The J&K batter, who eventually scored 70, was dismissed after the Indian pacer's ball flew past the slip cordon, leading to words being exchanged on the field.
When asked to summarize the day in which J&K took control and reached a massive score of 527/6, Dogra told reporters, “It was very good, to be honest. We are in a good position.”
“That’s what matters to me. Things like this happen, especially when you are playing a final or something similar,” he said.
“It was just a momentary lapse in concentration. It wasn’t a big deal. Yes, everything is now settled. That (hot day) was different, and it was just a momentary lapse. We started talking and chatting after that, so everything is fine,” Dogra added.
Dogra said Jammu and Kashmir will aim to bat as long as possible to force a result in the summit clash based on their lead in the first innings.
“No, we haven’t set a target, to be honest. We can still achieve a result based on our lead in the first innings, so we will try to bat as long as possible,” he said.
“Most of the players (in the J&K camp) are satisfied, but we can still bat for a long time. Everyone knows that Karnataka is a strong batting team. We will try to score as many runs as possible,” Dogra said.
Dogra, who had a partnership of 110 runs for the sixth wicket with Kanhaiya Wadhawan (70), said their discussion was to "dig in".
“(We discussed) having a good partnership. Let's focus, because this opportunity won't come again. Let's give our best and put the team in a good position,” he said.
Dogra said he did a one-hour drill against short bowling before the match began, but refused to comment on the efforts of the Karnataka bowlers.
“I can’t comment on all those things. But we have worked hard. We batted well, and that's why we have put up a good score. I will never criticize the bowlers,” he said.
“I had a discussion with Ajay Sharma sir and Dishant Yagnik, our fielding coach. In the morning, when I arrived, I did a one-hour drill for it (short pitch bowling)."
