Gopal, along with veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami, completed the milestone of 100 First-Class matches during the ongoing Duleep Trophy final between South Zone and East Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cDefinitely not, but everyone dreams of playing for the country, playing 100 First-Class games. It\u2019s a very special achievement and I\u2019m very grateful for this opportunity. I\u2019m very happy about this,\u201d Gopal told reporters at the end of day one\u2019s play.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Gopal\u2019s career has enjoyed a significant second wind since returning to Karnataka after playing for Kerala in 2024. In the previous Ranji Trophy season, he finished as the third-highest wicket-taker with 48 scalps alongside hitting five half-centuries with the bat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI put in a lot of work, especially on bowling. I was told that there are not too many leg-spinners who have played upwards of 30-50 games. I wanted to make a point to show that leg-spinners can play red-ball cricket and still be successful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI put a lot of work into my bowling. Batting was a little more gifted for me, in the sense that I grew up as a batsman so I had that natural ability to bat, but bowling took a lot. I bowled a lot of weeks, months and years,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
According to Gopal, the primary shift in his bowling approach over recent seasons has been tactical rather than purely technical. \u201cUsing the crease, understanding what situation it is and when to attack, when to defend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cMost times it will come off, sometimes, like today, it is not going to come off. But as long as you go in with a plan, as long as you try and achieve something with a goal, it at least gives you a sense of direction. If you just go there without a plan, most times you are not going to be aware of what\u2019s going to hit you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
According to Gopal, the primary shift in his bowling approach over recent seasons has been tactical rather than purely technical. \u201cUsing the crease, understanding what situation it is and when to attack, when to defend.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThere was a person who once told me that it\u2019s harder to handle success than failure. When you\u2019re successful, you can get carried away a lot easier. When you don\u2019t get that success, you want to do so much better, so you try and work a lot harder. But it\u2019s very important that you work as hard as when you\u2019re successful and when things are falling.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n