CHENNAI: A professional display by R Sai Kishore and Co earned Tamil Nadu earn their first win in the Ranji Trophy, beating Odisha in the fourth and final day in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
Sonu Yadav — who was adjudged the Player of the Match — excelled with both bat and ball for Tamil Nadu. His fifer in the first innings and his 74-run knock in the second innings was key in Tamil Nadu setting a mammoth target of 455 for Odisha. The hosts were toppled out for 247. Anil Parida (98) missed out on his century as he waged a lone battle for the hosts as he got little support from his teammates.
Tamil Nadu's Ranji coach M Senthilnathan was all praise for the team and hoped this win would give them momentum ahead of the final league game against Baroda.
"It is a good win and credit to the team work that we displayed. Yes, its our first win , but It's too late for us. Hopefully things this year will be a different year for us. By August or September, we will start the next season, so we have enough time, so if we can perform those five games well, hopefully 2026 will be good," Senthilnathan said.
The former Tamil Nadu batter observed that his boys played as per plan against Odisha.
"The idea was to put up a collective display. For example some batters got runs in the first innings, in the second innings they did not, but the others who did not do well in the first innings, chipped in the second time. Similarly, fast bowlers did well in the fist innings, spinners did not get that much purchase. In the second innings pacers got less wickets spinners got four or so. This is how I expect them to compliment each other," the coach added.
For the hosts, Anil Parida remained stubborn, with his patient knock. "As I said earlier, Odisha has improved over the years. But finally we did get Anil out through Gurjapneet So, no worries on that count. We knew that we had the attack to win the game and they did it superbly," Senthilnathan added.
He spoke on the impact of Sonu — who scalped two wickets in the second innings — on the match.
"It's an all-round performance from him and he deserves to be the man of the match. His performance matched the expectations,"complimented Senthilnathan. Left-arm spinner P Vidyuth also chipped in with two wickets. "He is learning. He is technically good, we were able to use him as number three. He has the ability to play out overs and ensure that wickets do not fall. He is able to survive that crucial 20 minutes, 25 minutes when the ball does something which is crucial for us. He adds value for us, and with time he will improve a lot more," Senthilnathan added.
Vice captain N Jagadeesan meanwhile, had a forgettable outing, getting out for single-digit scores in two of the innings in this match. Senthilnathan believed that Jagadeesan can get out of this rough patch. "Jags is the number one batsman for us now. So hopefully he will come good against Baroda. And he's not a newcomer. He knows how to come out of difficult situations. If he gets runs, I think it will be even better for us," said Senthilnathan.
With their next game against Baroda beginning January 29, Senthilnathan expects his team to be high on confidence. "We will carry the confidence from this game. Definitely I expect the boys to put up a good show and sign off with a win," he signed off.