NATHAM: There is nothing sweeter than the taste of victory. Coming into the second Group A match against Jammu & Kashmir on the back of a big loss against defending champions Karnataka, Tamil Nadu would have wanted nothing more than a win.
The hosts claimed victory by 277 runs on the third and penultimate day at the NPR College Ground, over a visiting side that was high on confidence. Captain R Prasanna said of the handsome win, “The previous loss had hurt our egos. We couldn’t even get a point in the first match. We wanted a win desperately. I’m happy we turned things around. We’ve to take it forward hereon.”
R Aushik Srinivas was the star of the day, picking up five wickets in 10 overs. The left-arm spinner got the ball to turn and bounce, wrecking havoc, giving away only 12 runs. Rahil Shah picked up three to return match figures of seven for 124.
The day begun brightly for Tamil Nadu as Abhinav Mukund and Baba Aparajith started going for shots early. Mukund hit a six and kept the scoreboard moving, while Aparajith too was busy. The century-maker walked off to a round of applause after being caught behind off Umar Nazir. Aparajith soon followed, dragging Nazir back on to his stumps.
Baba Indrajith and Malolan Rangarajan fell, going for quick runs. The hosts declared at 286 giving J&K 409 to chase. With lunch an hour away, the visitors’ priority was not to lose wickets. That plan was soon laid to rest with Adil Reshi being castled by the wily old fox Lakshmipathy Balaji. Bandeep Singh was caught at forward short-leg off Malolan. At lunch, they were 41 for two.
Shubham Khajuria and Ian Dev Singh added 55 for the third wicket. Both went for their shots. Khajuria hit two sixes off Malolan, while Ian was dealing in boundaries. Shah came to rescue, dismissing Ian for 31.
Aushik Srinivas joined the party soon, getting rid of skipper Parvez Rasool, who holed out to Indrajith at mid-on while trying to heave one over mid-wicket. Khajuria tried to attack, hitting two consecutive sixes off Shah. He showed attacking instinct and brought up his 50.
Shah got a delivery to grip and bounce, undoing Khajuria’s hard work. He was caught at silly point. This triggered a slide which saw J&K lose their remaining wickets to Aushik, for the addition of just 16 runs. “I got instructions to bowl tight and not let the opposition score freely. The pitch was offering spin so I tried to keep a steady line and get the basics right, which paid off,” said Aushik. The victory gave Tamil Nadu six points. Mukund was adjudged Man of the Match.
Joshi Livid
J&K coach Sunil Joshi wasn’t pleased with the surface. “This was the first Ranji match here and I’ve reservations against playing on this wicket again. The BCCI wants sporting wickets throughout. This was not one. I hope the BCCI sees videos and does what’s necessary.”
Tamil Nadu 1st innings 254.
J&K 1st innings 132.
Tamil Nadu 2nd innings (overnight 199/1): A Mukund c Haroon b Nazir 137, B Aparajith b Nazir 73, D Karthik (not out) 24, B Indrajith c Hardeep b Rasool 5, M Rangarajan c Hardeep b Raza 0, R Prasanna (not out) 3, Extras (b 12, lb 1, w 2, nb 1) 16, Total (5 wickets dec; 69 overs) 286. Fall of wickets: 1-69, 2-243, 3-262, 4-271, 5-272. Bowling: Rasool 21-1-68-1, Raza 17-1-77-1, Beigh 14-1-58-1, Gupta 5-0-28-0, Nazir 12-1-42-2.
Jammu & Kashmir 2nd innings: S Khajuria c Indrajith b Shah 60, A Reshi b Balaji 9, Bandeep c Gandhi b Rangarajan 11, ID Singh c Mukund b Shah 31, P Rasool c Indrajith b Aushik Srinivas 0, Hardeep Singh c Balaji b Shah 12, M Gupta c Gandhi b Aushik Srinivas 1, O Haroon (not out) 1, W Raza c Aparajith b Aushik Srinivas 4, S Beigh c Sushil b Aushik Srinivas 0, U Nazir b Aushik Srinivas 0, Extras (b 1, nb 1) 2, Total (all out; 44 overs) 131. Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-38, 3-93, 4-95, 5-115, 6-120, 7-126, 8-131, 9-131. Bowling: Balaji 4-0-14-1, Shah 21-6-64-3, Rangarajan 9-0-40-1, Aushik Srinivas 10-5-12-5.