We played to our strengths throughout the season: Vinay

Karnataka defended their Ranji Trophy title pummeling Tamil Nadu in the final played at the Wankhede stadium, Mumbai and skipper Vinay Kumar, who became only the second Karnataka captain after Erappali Prasanna to claim back-to-back titles attributed the success to hard work and team unity.

"I'm absolutely thrilled that we have retained the Trophy. It has been a lot of hard work and sweat, but we, as a team have enjoyed the journey," said Vinay, who finished the season as the joint-highest wicket-taker alongside Mumbai's Shardul Thakur with 48 scalps.

"Looking back at the season, there wasn't a match which I can pick out as a difficult one because all the teams were tough. As a unit we have a policy not to take any team lightly. We just go out there and play to our strengths and don't think too much about the opponents," he added.

Equally elated was Karnataka's batting coach Jagdeesh Arun Kumar, who was also part of Karnataka's previous year triumph. "The feeling hasn't sunk in and I'm hugely thankful to god for this and the team of course for putting in the hardwork," said Arunkumar.

One of the most striking features of Karnataka's triumph this season was the performance of the lower-middle order, which scored crucial runs at critical junctures throughout the season to help their team out of trouble and Arunkumar was all praise for his wards.

"A lot of little things have added up for this success. Be it the discipline, the work ethics, bowlers or batsman. The journey has been great and even the bowlers have got the runs," he said. As a batting coach, it makes me feel proud. You can no more call them the tailenders. They are all lower order batsmen. Them getting runs is so important to posting big totals. It is important for a team going into the knockouts and then the final and out team has delivered."

Recollecting the memorable moments of the season, Vinay was quick to point out his spell of 6 for 20 against Mumbai in the semi-final in Bangalore that bundled out Mumbai for 44. "A special moment was getting Mumbai out for 44 in the semifinals at the M Chinnaswamy stadium. Individually getting six wickets in that match is something I will always cherish," said Vinay, who went on to add that KL Rahul and Karun Nair's triple centuries were equally special. "We have had many standout performances throughout the season. As a captain, for me KL Rahul's 337 and Karun Nair's 328 were very special," Vinay stated.

With another successful campaign, Karnataka took their tally of Ranji Trophy wins to eight to become the second most successful team in the history of India's premier domestic tournament behind Mumbai. Apart from Vinay topping the charts in the bowling department, Robin Uthappa has finished the tournament as the highest run-getter this season with 912 runs ahead of Tamil Nadu's Dinesh Karthik (884) and Abhinav Mukund (858).