We didn’t bowl well: Coach Kanitkar

After bailing his team out along with the experienced Yashpal Singh from a precarious 41 for three, Patel chose the aerial route to reach his sixth first class century. The shot, however, landed in J Kousik’s outstretched hands and the diminutive Patel had to trudge a long way back regretting his moment of madness.

“It feels bad to lose my wicket on 99. The ball was there to be hit and that one run would have made a lot of difference. I played really well until that point and I will try harder in the second innings to get a century,” said the 24-year-old. Patel gave credit to the TN bowlers for making early roads into its batting line-up. 

“The wicket had good bounce and carry for the fast bowlers. Their bowlers bowled according to the field and pitched it in the right areas. We were waiting for the loose balls to punish,” added Patel. 

Meanwhile, the host team’s coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar said regular opener Murali Vijay was ruled out after he complained of a stiff neck. Kanitkar praised the way Tripura batted in the second session.

“We let go of pressure after lunch. It was a good wicket to bat on. Our bowlers could have bowled better. Those two (Patel and Yashpal Singh) are seasoned professionals and know how to go about batting under pressure,” explained Kanitkar.