In what was the most thrilling match of the ongoing Duleep Trophy, R Sai Kishore held his nerve to take South Zone home against North Zone at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. With the two-wicket win, South entered their second consecutive final where they would be up against West Zone, who qualified based on first innings lead versus Central.
Coming into bat at 191/6, Sai Kishore saw Washington Sundar and KV Sasikanth get out cheaply. And having almost seen the bitter end of the result in the first innings — Sai Kishore was stumped off Jayant Yadav’s bowling as he tried to go for a big shot to secure the lead — where South trailed by three runs, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder knew exactly what to do. Or rather what not to do. “What happened in the first innings, my biggest learning was to not step out. Because you lose a lot of shape and when you are under pressure in such situations you might not have the necessary clarity when you step out and hit. That was the learning. I tried not to step out today and it worked,” Sai Kishore told this daily.
After guiding the team home, an elated Sai Kishore celebrated with Vyshak Vijaykumar for company. From missing out on the chance to gain a first innings lead to take South to the final, he feels “it was meant to be”. When the flower is bloomed only then the bee comes to it. I prepared very well with my batting, I was mentally there in the zone. When Vyshak came into bat, that is what I told him. Life has given me another opportunity to win this match.”
Sai Kishore’s steely nerve comes as no surprise at all. After all, he has been there in similar situations in the past where things did not go his way, including the Ranji Trophy game against Andhra last season where TN lost by eight runs. “It definitely helps. Every time you go out and you don’t win, that is a very good opportunity to learn. Andhra game was one such. You take things and move forward. Even today, I had a lot of learning to take. Next time when I am in a similar situation, I’ll try and handle it in a much better way.”
For someone who has been a vital cog in his state — he even led them in few games last year — Sai Kishore reiterates the understanding he has developed about his red-ball game since the 2022-23 season. “I have become much more aware about red-ball cricket, on what my bowling is. You learn a lot about yourself. Have developed one or two variations with angles to deviate the ball both ways.. It is a very subtle difference, but I am getting better at it. Also, I have been blessed to have a captain like Hanuma Vihari. He takes care of everything. All I have to do is show up and bowl. All those things came together for me today,” he signed off. Brief scores: North Zone 198 & 211 lost to South Zone 195 & 219/8 in 82 ovs (Mayank 54, Vihari 43, Sai Kishore 15 n.o); West 220 & 297 drew Central 128 & 128/4 in 35 ovs (RInku 40).