CHENNAI: With just a point against Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu will be looking to get full points against Tripura in a second round Ranji Trophy match at MAC Stadium from Saturday.
The problem for Tamil Nadu — apart from the weather — is bowling, which looked ordinary in the second innings of the Andhra clash. But skipper Abhinav Mukund says he has full faith in his team and is confident that they will deliver. “You cannot approach a game thinking we will go for all points.
We take it one innings at a time. In the last game, we did not bat well in the first innings. That was a big talking point in our team meeting, and we have decided to take more responsibility, put runs on the board, and give the bowlers something to defend.
“After seeing one innings, I do not want to take a hasty decision. We have an experienced attack and I have full faith in them. We had Andhra on the mat at 64/5. B Sumanth played well, and we dropped a catch.
I am not too worried about our bowling.” With the wicket at Chepauk playing slow and not aiding spin, will J Kousik play as a third seamer?
“I consider him a batting all-rounder, not a bowling one. He has scored a hundred in Buchi Babu and a ton in the last U-23 game. He has come in for (Baba) Aparajith. “One of the positives from the last game was seam bowling. L Vignesh and K Vignesh took three wickets initially in the first innings. We are happy with them, and I think there will be no change.”
Abhinav revealed that Dinesh Karthik — who was with the India team for the third and final T20I against Australia in Hyderabad — has made himself available and will be part of the squad. He asserted that there are no injury worries, as Murali Vijay has recovered from an ankle sprain. Tripura captain Manisankar Murasingh remarked that Tamil Nadu were a tough side at home, and his players will give it their best shot.
“Tamil Nadu are tough to beat at home. We are also aware that they will try to go for full points. When a team does that, mistakes can happen, and we look to exploit that. We do not have that many spinners in our ranks. Smit Patel, Rana Datta and Yashpal Singh are the players to watch from our side.”
ashok.v@newindianexpress.com