CHENNAI: Centuries by Dega Nischal (161 batting; 350b, 24x4) and Imliwati Lemtur (115 batting; 203b, 17x4) put Nagaland in a sound position against Tamil Nadu on the third day of the Group A Ranji Trophy match played at BCCI CoE grounds, Bengaluru on Monday.
Nagaland were 365 for 5 in 127 overs at Stumps. With the day's development, Tamil Nadu hopes of going for full points all but over.
Dega continued his good form from Sunday to notch up his 10th first-class century. Yugandhar Singh, who was on 58 overnight, fell to the guile of DT Chandrasekar, adding just 9 nine runs to his score.
Thereafter, Dega and Imliwati frustrated the Tamil Nadu players with their stubborn effort. Imliwati reached his maiden first-class hundred and the duo have so far raised 205 runs for the sixth wicket.
Going into this contest, M Senthilnathan, chief coach of Tamil Nadu, had expected the wicket to be favourable for the spinners on the third and fourth day. But it was a day of toil for TN spinners R Sai Kishore and Chandrasekar, who bowled plenty of overs. The experienced duo was unable to trouble the Nagaland batters.
"Definitely, nothing is happening on the wicket. It is just like a concrete wicket. No bounce, nothing. The wicket looks like a stone. There is no mark (ball mark on the surface)," said Senthilnathan.
"It was a really tough day for Tamil Nadu. Very, very tough day. We got four wickets in 10 overs and in 120 overs, we got 1 wicket. Nothing happened on the wicket (pitch). They tried their best. And they batted well at the same time," he added.
Senthilnathan observed that Sai Kishore bowled his best and set attacking fields, but was unlucky. "Dega and Imliwati played well. For Imliwati, we set an attacking field and he hit the ball in no man's land. Sai Kishore, coming after an injury, bowled a lot but was not lucky."
The North Eastern states depend heavily on guest players and former Tamil Nadu captain Rahil Shah, who played for Tripura, revealed what it takes for a professional to play for a team from that region. Dega played for Karnataka under Vinay Kumar's captaincy and now is making a difference for Nagaland. "Playing as a professional, the pressure is totally different. Two matches without performing, the management will ask you questions. People look up to you so much. So, obviously, every match you have to perform. And expectations are quite high because you are a professional cricketer," said Rahil.
"Plus, you have to be on the road for about 4-5-6 months a year. That is also quite taxing. The camps will be there, your practice will be there, your matches will be there. So, you will be away from home for a long time. But the main thing is the performance. If you don't perform, the management will ask you tough questions. So, they expect something special from professional cricketers, this is what drives them to excel," he added.
Dega has been answering all the questions in an emphatic fashion and he'll be hoping to pile on more misery on Tamil Nadu on Day 4.
