CHENNAI: RS Ambrish's patient 83 and a valuable 37 by Vidyuth P batting at No 9 propelled TNCA President's XI to post an imposing 567 for 9 declared in 203 overs against Jammu and Kashmir on the third day of the All India Buchi Babu Invitation Tournament semifinal being played at the CSK-HPC grounds here on Tuesday.
In reply, Jammu and Kashmir were 212 for 4 in 65 overs at stumps. Vidyuth took three wickets, while Hemchudeshan J took the other one. Yawar Hassan was batting on 72 batting at close of play. Yawar and Abdul Samad added 108 runs in 33.3 overs for the fourth wicket.
J&K bowlers in particular the spinners could not exploit the surface and ended up conceding in excess of 500 runs. But Ajay Sharma, the chief coach of J&K, is not perturbed. "See (with) this kind of wicket, they kill the cricket and they know they are on the safer side, they got 15 points, so they just wanted to kill the time, they wanted to play as long as possible. They don't want to give us the time to take a first inning lead," said Sharma after the TNCA President's XI innings ended. "The wicket is like, you know, it's a third day wicket now and we are in there. It seems to be a good wicket, if we play well we can score runs on this wicket," he added.
Ajay, however, said that the tournament helps in preparing for the red-ball cricket. "I think it's (Buchi Babu) a good exposure for all the players. To learn what a 4-day game is, how to go about it. It's a learning experience for the youngsters. Before the season, it's a good tournament to have. Before the season, everybody gets used to bowling long spells," opined the 61-year old.
The former Delhi player believes J&K have a lot of talent and should do well in the Ranji season ahead. "We got a lot of guys coming in the team, youngsters coming from under-23 level. Yawar is playing and Kawalpreet Singh and Musaif Aijaz are good. So, they are good players and you will see them doing well in the future," pointed out Ajay, insisting that Umran Malik must be handled with care as he is coming after an injury.
Tamil Nadu and TNCA President's XI chief coach M Senthilnathan lauded his boys for posting an imposing score and in reply taking four opponents wickets. "What I looked at was asking them to bat for two days. I won't say this is our first eleven, but they're all boys who are looking to play for it. So when they can show the attitude of batting for two days, you know, that's very important, But I also see positives in our spinners showing some pluck and batting for a long time," said Senthilnathan.
The hosts expect their spinners to put pressure on the visitors on the final day and take a good lead. "So I think they've done a very good job as a team. I expect our three spinners to bowl in tandem and try and get a good lead. So overall, I am happy as things are going as per plan," said Senthilnathan.
Brief scores: Semifinals: At CSK-HPC: TNCA President's XI 567/9 decl. in 203 ovs (R Vimal Khumar 112, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 91, Andre Siddarth 57, G Ajitesh 101, RS Ambrish 83, P Vidyuth 37, Abid Mushtaq 3/137) vs Jammu & Kashmir 212/4 in 65 ovs (Yawar Hassan 72 batting, Musaif Aijaz 36, Abdul Samad 75, P Vidyuth 3/63). At Guru Nanak: Hyderabad 225 & 254 in 99.4 ovs (Aman Rao 35, Hima Teja 41, Varun Goud 91, Nikhil Kashyap 5/80, Parth Vats 3/49) vs Haryana 208 & 6/2 in 4 ovs.
