VISAKHAPATNAM : Prior to Friday, the combined experience of Tamil Nadu’s pace trio of Aswin Crist, T Natarajan and K Vignesh was 35 matches and 113 wickets. They had shown glimpses of what they can bring to the team in a long tournament like Ranji Trophy.
Judging by the way they dismantled a star-studded Karnataka for a paltry 88 in their quarterfinal clash at YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium, there is reason to believe there are exciting days ahead for Abhinav Mukund’s side.
After the skipper chose to bowl on a pitch with 4mm of grass, the onus was on Crist & Co to restrict Karnataka. And the pacers set the tone for the match. Not since the heydays of current bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji have pacers from the state made headlines for the right reasons.
But this side seems different. The difference, perhaps, was thrust upon them. With the neutral-venue policy introduced in Ranji Trophy, TN could no longer just depend on spinners, and had to have an all-round attack in order to harbour hopes of going the distance. With Crist’s career-best 6/31, it was the first major sign of things falling into place for a long under-achieving team.
“For domestic cricket, especially Ranji Trophy, you need two or three good fast bowlers to go to the next level. Lots of individual dependency was there in the past, and we made sure (we got) a unit performing together. We understood we don’t have big names, and had to get these guys to perform as a unit,” noted Balaji.
Last season, TN pacers accounted for only 35 wickets. They already have 93 this season, an incredible rise for a young attack still a long way from being a finished product. “Their average age is around 22-23, as it’s important to have a young unit for the next few years. This also means a bigger pool of bowlers, because in domestic cricket, conditions are hard for pacers, and at some stage, they’ll have niggles and injuries. We’ve a couple of players to add to our bench strength, players who’re good enough, and need to build on that. It’s important to concentrate on and develop an attack,” added the former India pacer.
With conditions favouring them, TN pacers hardly gave anything away to Karnataka. Against a batting unit comprising of KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair, they made life their difficult, as only four crossed double figures.
“We didn’t have a strategy. Bala anna told us to be simple and bowl with discipline. I was a bit short in the first spell, which was frustrating. So I just calmed down a bit and hit the right lengths. On these kind of wickets, one just has to land the ball in the right areas, and that’s what I did. I was just trying to hit the off-stump channel,” noted Crist.
If Crist took time to adjust his lengths, Natarajan was on the money from the word go, and even squared up Rahul. Vignesh’s lone wicket might not reflect the hard work he put in, but he complimented the rest. “I was urging them to be consistent, and not try anything extraordinary. It’s a big game, and to bowl them out for 88 has made this the best day so far in my career,” added Crist.
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com