In the quest for its third Ranji Trophy title, Tamil Nadu has had a rollercoaster ride over the course of its campaign this season. After an abysmal start which saw it lose to defending champion Karnataka by 285 runs, its prospect of advancing to the quarterfinals had looked bleak as it eked out a mere point each against Madhya Pradesh, Railways and Bengal.
Things then began to turn around as its spinners got into action and the team showed plenty of pluck in the second half of the league and in the knockout to find itself in the final.
The side sweated it out for nearly four hours at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday morning in its first training session ahead of the final against Karnataka beginning on Sunday. M. Vijay, who was felicitated by the MCC on Thursday, was not in action though; he was expected to join the squad later in the day.
“After the first half, we were precariously placed; and so it was a case of either go for glory or perish. We had to take that call,” said coach W.V. Raman. “Looking at the situation, we had to play to win and not play safe. I took the call and the boys responded well.”
“The idea was to put some pressure on the youngsters, make them tough in order to produce results, and they learnt quickly. A good performance in a tight situation will have a tremendous impact on their cricket and that’s what happened subsequently.” .
Tamil Nadu was largely helped by its spinners’ (Rahil Shah, Malolan Rangarajan and Aushik Srinivas) dominating display on surfaces that afforded turn at Dindigul (against Jammu & Kashmir) and at Chennai (against Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai).
“We had to play only on turners, because it was a re-laid square in Chennai; it had not settled down and was not hard enough. The option was to play on a featherbed or on a track which can be made to help the spinners. We chose the latter,” said Raman.
“More than the Dindigul game, it was the games against Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai that mattered because both these teams were good enough to qualify. It was a question of a shootout and we had to take that calculated risk and, luckily, we won those games. The turnaround started, and it gave the boys the belief that they can come through if they applied themselves to a task,” he said.
Tamil Nadu was in control for nearly two days before losing to Karnataka in its season opener. “That happened three months ago, and since then, a lot of things have happened. We are looking ahead and not back,” said Raman.
“Karnataka have not been on a canter; Mumbai had the better of them and they had to fight hard.”
“It has not been a walk in the park. This also means they know how to handle such situations. As I see it, the team which is able to identify key moments of the game and try and do what’s supposed to be done will have the last laugh.”
“Two good sides are going to play and one can expect a competitive game. No such thing as underdog or a favourite. It will be a battle of confidence against a side which is willing to fight,” said Raman.
Raman also praised the way Baba Indrajith and Vijay Shankar have responded to situations. “That’s one of the reasons we are where we are. Both these boys put their hands up when under pressure, and delivered some good performances. In the last few games, Vijay Shankar played very important roles; it’s good to see youngsters fighting against the odds and coming out on top.”
“Aparajith? This could be the occasion for him,” said Raman.
