THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Thursday, Greenfield International Stadium witnessed an unequal contest in Group B of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. And on expected lines, Tamil Nadu that comprise former and current India internationals annihilated minnows Manipur, the side that mainly consists of players who were once carpenters or flower-sellers.
Dinesh Karthik and Co bundled out Manipur for 55 before chasing it in 4.1 overs. While it was business as usual for the domestic giants, the Manipuri players exuded enthusiasm even in the crushing loss.
Keen to improve their run rate, TN opener Murali Vijay smashed 33 off just 14, hitting three fours and sixes each before getting run out. Two balls later, his team romped home, winning by nine wickets.
Unlike their debut season last year, Manipur have decided to rely more on local talent now. “We are not playing with any professionals as our management decided that we’ll promote local guys. They are not full-time cricketers. But now they have started taking cricket seriously. They were doing very ordinary jobs before pursuing cricket. Most of them come from very humble backgrounds. Manipur Cricket Association has gradually started providing them contracts,” Manipur coach Manish Jha said.
On Thursday, they were up against a side with the likes of Vijay, Karthik, Washington Sundar and Vijay Shankar. Jha believes this will be invaluable experience for his men. “The competitive cricket scene back in Manipur is very ordinary when compared to this level. But now they are starting to react well while shifting from that level to this. Playing against such stars will be a huge learning. Also, BCCI has given us the assurance that they will develop the infrastructure in Manipur.”
Before Vijay’s fireworks came a clinical bowling performance from Tamil Nadu. Murugan Ashwin and Thangarasu Natarajan took three wickets each. None of the Manipur batsmen reached double figures.
Tamil Nadu coach D Vasu feels that Manipur needs to bring in professional players to take their game to the next level. “It might take them some four to five years to come up to the level of the other teams. They need to have professional players to help them,” opined Vasu.
Brief scores: Manipur 55 in 18.4 ovs (Natarajan 3/7, M Ashwin 3/8) lost to Tamil Nadu 58/1 in 4.1 ovs (Vijay 33).