“After we defeated Saurashtra in the previous season, we had to go home as we did not qualify for the knockouts, and they went on to win the title. This time, we beat them again, and we hope to win the trophy,” said Sandeep Warrier after Tamil Nadu’s thumping win in the quarterfinals here on Sunday.
The pacer played an important role, taking five wickets in the match on a pitch skewed heavily in favour of the spinners and came for praise from both the skipper and coach.
“We did better than what we expected of ourselves. I thought we could try to win by the fourth day, but we did not expect to do it on the third day,” remarked R. Sai Kishore, who led from the front with both bat and ball.
“Everyone showed up under pressure. The lower-order contribution is important, and that is where matches get decided. We are trying to give batting to everyone in the nets, and I am happy it is showing results,” said the TN skipper about the crucial last-wicket partnership that got the team’s lead past 150.
An impressive part of TN’s bowling was how the left-arm spinners kept Cheteshwar Pujara silent in both innings. “We did not want to give air to the deliveries so that he couldn’t use his feet. We wanted to pin him to the crease and block his scoring areas, which worked,” Sai Kishore explained.
Meanwhile, coach Sulkashan Kulkarni said, “To beat a team like Saurashtra that too by an innings is fantastic. We are a team that is hungry and enjoying each other’s success.”
