CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu will look to carry forward the momentum from the innings win over Uttarakhand when they take on Railways in the third round of the Ranji Trophy at the MA Chidambaram stadium here from Monday.
Weather permitting, the hosts would go all out for full points as all their key players, in particular their bowlers, are in good form. The hosts have eight points from two games. Although Tamil Nadu chief coach Yo Mahesh did not reveal the playing XI, keeping in mind the conditions and surface (mixture of red and black soil wicket), they may include Sonu Yadav in place of third spinner J Hemchudeshan. R Sai Kishore and S Ajith Ram, meanwhile, are happy to be hunting in pairs again. "Very good win. Very commanding victory over Uttarakhand. Very happy to be bowling along with Ajith Ram again. He is coming back from a long injury. Both of us were very happy to be playing with each other again. We look forward to carrying the momentum against Railways," said Sai Kishore, captain of Tamil Nadu. "Wonderful to play for Tamil Nadu again. Happy to bowl with Sai Kishore again. We compliment each other. Both of us know each other's bowling well and know how to adapt to the wickets and conditions. We are looking forward to do well against Railways," Ajith Ram told this daily.
The mixed soil surface is a matter of concern for Tamil Nadu coach Yo Mahesh. "We haven't seen the wicket yet. We are playing on wicket No 6, its nature is different from the previous one. What I have heard it is a mix of black and red soil. We need to take that factor into account when we decide on the XI," said Yo Mahesh. "Honestly, this is my first experience of playing on a mixed wicket. Predominantly, you expect it to be more on the black soil side than red. We are used to red soil. But this is a mixture of black and red. We will have to wait and see how it plays out," he added.
For Railways, right from the final that they played here at Chepauk in 1988, spin has been their strength. Railways coach Zakaria Zuffri agrees that spinners will call the shots and insists that his team has to start winning games and hopes to have a turnaround at Chepauk. "We are very determined actually. Though we didn't get the finishing line, we are playing good cricket as far as we are concerned. Though because of our batters, everybody is getting runs. We have a little bit of inexperience in our bowling attack. So that is our only concern. I think if our bowlers do it, it will be good," said Zuffri. "Raj Choudhary is there. Last year, in three matches, he got 19 wickets. This year also, he is among wickets now. Two matches, he got six wickets on a flat track. Then, we have this new guy, Toufik Uddin Mondal, off-spinner. Pradhyumn Parikh is also there as a leg-spinner, replacing Karn Sharma,'' said Zuffri, insisting that these guys need time to mature.
