CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu's skipper R Sai Kishore led by example as his fifer (5/66) and youngster Ajith Ram's (3/56) came in handy for the hosts to restrict Saurashtra to a gettable 183 in 77.1 overs on Day One of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal here in Coimbatore on Friday. Harvik Desai was the top scorer for the visitors with 83.
In reply, Tamil Nadu were 23 for 1 in 10 overs at stumps. N Jagadeesan remained unbeaten on 12, while Sai Kishore, coming in as night watchman, was not out on 6.
On the eve of the game, the Tamil Nadu skipper talking to The New Indian Express held the toss irrelevant saying he has immense confidence in his batters and in particular his bowlers. The confidence was evident as TN bowlers gave a good account of themselves to restrain the defending champions, who opted to bat after the coin flipped their way.
"Absolutely happy with the way the day panned out. No complains. Our bowlers did a brilliant job. First our pacers Sandeep Warrier and M Mohammed bowled in tandem to apply pressure in the early morning conditions, then our spinners did a good job. Ajith Ram bowled splendidly against a quality batting line-up," said Sai Kishore.
A couple of days back, Ajith Ram expressed his desire to bowl well against Cheteshwar Pujara and trouble the veteran batter in a chat with The New Indian Express. On Friday, the left-arm spinner not only troubled the former India No 3 batter but also dismissed him for 2 with a brilliant return catch.
"Ajith took two prized wickets that of Pujara and Arpit Vasavada. These two can play a long innings and forge a big stand. Ajith also foxed the well-settled Harvik Desai into submission. But I believe that the turning point was the dismissal of Pujara. When one manages to get such a big batter out cheaply, it creates a sense of joy and propels all the bowlers to do better," pointed out the TN captain. "So far things have gone on as per our plans and we need to play in the same fashion in the next few days," he added.
With the fifer, Sai Kishore also became the leading wicket-taker this season. He has claimed 43 wickets in eight matches so far. "Nothing special, bowled wicket to wicket, with subtle variations. Things worked out as planned. Must say that I got excellent support at the other end be it the spinners or pacers. We bowled as a unit and came out with flying colours," he added.
Tamil Nadu lost Vimal Khumar cheaply and have to be careful on Saturday morning. "Yes, we have lost a wicket. But we are positive and will do better on Saturday. We will be cautious in the first hour, then slowly build the innings. The priority will be to take the lead first and then consolidate," said the 27-year-old left-arm spinner. "With the depth and flexibility that we have in our lineup, I expect our boys to respond well to the challenge," signed off Sai Kishore.
