CHENNAI: A six-wicket haul last week. A six-wicket haul this week. Left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan is purring as Hyderabad, led by Mohammed Siraj, defeated Andhra by 267 runs on Day 4 of their Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match on Wednesday.
In Mulapadu, the visitors made the most of a sporting wicket to win their second match of the season. After setting a target of 398, the visitors, led by the spin duo of Tanay Thyagarajan (6/35) and Aniketh Reddy (3/57), bowled out the hosts for 130. Hyderabad sit on top of Group B with 13 points.
In a match dictated by spin, Thyagarajan was the most influential. His 11-wicket match haul (11/98) and a fighting 53 in Hyderabad’s second essay helped them to a resounding victory. As of Wednesday noon, he was sitting on top of the wicket takers table with 20, averaging 9.35.
He felt that the good start on Day 2 set the tone for Hyderabad’s big win. After folding for 275 in the first innings, the visitors fought back by toppling Andhra out for 184. “I think Mohammed Siraj getting the second wicket was key,” Thyagarajan told this daily. “We were creating situations where the opposition batters were constantly under pressure. I feel we were setting the right fields because there were moments in the game where the wicket flattened and it got low and creating a wicket might have been a little difficult. When we were batting, I felt we were making the right decisions, leaving the right balls. So, I think because we had our fields right, it made a big difference,” he added.
After a forgettable Duleep Trophy – where he played only the semifinal match against North Zone – Thyagarajan is responding with wickets. With the left-arm spinner pool in India continuing to grow, taking the step towards the national team is never easy. “There's so many quality left-arm spinners at the first-class level. I mean, almost every team has one who is very skillful. It just depends on who is in form in a particular match. So, the competition, as I said, is very high. So, I don't really like thinking about the competition. Trying to be ahead of someone or jump ahead of someone is a pressure that I don't really want to take on myself at this point of time.” he said.
Rather, he puts the team first. “The thought process is always what needs to be done to make sure the team wins. Of course, I have my personal goals which align with the team, where I know that if I take these many wickets and score these many runs at the right time for the team, it's not about just building your stats, but they have to be wickets and runs that make a difference to the result of a game. And that's when I feel that I have done my job,” he explained.
Brief scores: Hyderabad 275 & 306/7d bt Andhra 184 & 130 in 30.5 ovs (Ricky Bhui 26; Tanay Thyagarajan 6/35, Aniketh Reddy 3/57).