CHENNAI: After bagging three points against Nagaland in their previous game, Tamil Nadu will be hoping to deliver a better performance when they take on defending champs Vidarbha in the third round of the Ranji Trophy that will be played at Coimbatore from Saturday.
Tamil Nadu have been forced to make a few changes to their squad. Gurjapneet Singh, the hat-trick hero from their recent outing, will be rested for the meeting against Vidarbha as it is understood that he had picked up a niggle during the Nagaland tie. All-rounder RS Ambrish and off-spinner J Hemchudeshan will also be unavailable for the match as they have been called for U19 preparations. R Sonu Yadav, S Mohamed Ali and TD Lokesh Raj have stepped in as replacements in the 16-member squad.
Tamil Nadu have three points after the first two rounds while Vidarbha are on top of the Elite Group A points table with a draw and a win each so far. The defending champs also have a couple of changes. The Akshay Wadkar-led side have replaced injured Aditya Thakare with Lalit Yadav and added Satyam Bhoyar in their 17-member squad. They will also be without the services of Harsh Dubey, who is a part of the India A squad.
Tamil Nadu coach M Senthilnathan is hopeful that his side can bring their A-game to the fore. "We are keen to turn things around and give our best against Vidarbha. I have had a chat with the boys and insisted that they play to their true potential. I have also made them realize that they have the game to perform against the best in the business. It all boils down to application. The boys are keen and determined to make amends and give their best against Vidarbha," Senthilnathan said.
It goes without saying Gurjapneet's absence will be a big void for TN to fill. "It is unfortunate that Gurjapneet is not there. He was a very handy bowler who gave us vital breakthroughs early on. But we have to move on. There are a couple of guys in contention. We have Sonu (Yadav), who can bat also. We will have a final look at the wicket on Saturday morning and then decide," said Senthilnathan.
The hosts will depend upon skipper R Sai Kishore and DT Chandraekar to take the chunk of the bowling load as they are the experienced spinners in the squad. "Sai (Kishore) and DT Chandra are our main spinners. Hemchudeshan is not there as he has gone for the U19 preparations. We have Mohamed Ali in place of Hemchudeshan. We will decide the combination (spin) after having a final look at the wicket."
In their outing against Nagaland, the Bengaluru surface was one of the talking points with spinners finding it hard to get any sort of help. Senthilnathan is happy with the Coimbatore wicket.
"The wicket looks good and should play true. It could wear as the game progresses. So all the bowlers, be it pacers and spinners, should get help," he noted.
Having said that, Senthilnathan is still unsure about the team combination. "We have not yet decided what the team combination will be. Having said that, I expect the top-six batters to put runs on the board. One has to put enough runs on the board for the bowlers to have some cushion and go for wickets."
Pradosh Ranjan Paul and C Andre Siddarth have settled in at No 3 and No 4 spots for Tamil Nadu. The duo's performance will be crucial against a strong side like Vidarbha.
"Yes, both (Pradosh, Andre) look settled. Pradosh is a consistent performer and Andre got a lot of runs in Ranji last season and this year too, he looks in good touch. We expect Vimal (Khumar), who is in good form, and also the likes of Indrajith (Baba), who has good experience, to chip in with useful contributions," said Senthilnathan.
Tamil Nadu's area of concern is their bowlers' inability to break partnerships. After a good start, their bowlers had allowed the middle order to post big partnerships in their last two matches.
''This is one area that we are working upon. If you see the last two games, we got some four odd wickets quickly. After that, we struggled at times to get breakthroughs. I have told the boys not to be carried after a couple of wickets and also, not to be complacent. We have told them what could be done to break partnerships. It all boils down to how they apply themselves," said Senthilnathan, adding that the weather was fine at Coimbatore and that he expects four days of engrossing cricket.
