'We aim to dominate Indian cricket for next decade'

Vinay Kumar, who led Karnataka to its seventh Ranji Trophy title, said his team's goal is to dominate Indian cricket for the next ten years.

"We have a great bunch of guys who are very young and hungry to perform. I feel we have it in us to keep winning and our goal is to dominate Indian cricket for the next ten years," Vinay told reporters at felicitation ceremony of his team members for bringing home the coveted trophy after a 15-year gap.

Vinay said his team-mates were pumped up for the finals as they wanted to put behind the sour memories of narrowly losing to Mumbai in the finals four years ago.

"The narrow loss to Mumbai four years back in Mysore hurt us, so when we got to the final, all of us were so keyed up and said to each other that we should play as if the cup belongs to us, and we did," he said.

KSCA Secretary Brijesh Patel announced Rs one crore reward to the team. On On Sunday, Karnataka government had also announced Rs one crore prize money.

Earlier, the players were welcomed with garlands and greeted by firecrackers at KSCA after they beaten Maharashtra in the final by seven wickets.

Image: Vinay Kumar

Photograph: Pal Pillai/Getty Images