Tamil Nadu, Karnataka battle for top prize

Both sides come into the summit clash on the back of easy victories in the semi-finals. While holder Karnataka cruised past Haryana by eight wickets in a high-scoring duel, Tamil Nadu decimated Rajasthan by seven wickets. The contest will be a repeat of the Vijay Hazare title decider, where Karnataka proved too good for Tamil Nadu.

Karun Nair-led Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, captained by Dinesh Karthik, deservedly find themselves in the T20 competition’s final, having won all but two of their respective encounters.

According to Tamil Nadu coach D Vasu, toss will prove to be crucial. “In the Vijay Hazare final, we lost the toss and there was rain interruption as well. (On Sunday) too, the spin of the coin will be vital,” Vasu told DT Next.

Since going down to Karnataka in the Super League phase, Tamil Nadu has been unstoppable. And, a fair share of credit will have to go to its spinners, who have weaved their magic in friendly conditions. Tamil Nadu’s playing eleven, of late, has been stacked with slow bowlers, with left-arm spinners R Sai Kishore (20 wickets) and M Siddharth (12 wickets) being particularly impressive.

Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin and Baba Aparajith too have chipped in with crucial scalps at different junctures. Vasu was delighted with the performances of his frontline bowlers and expected them to continue their good showing.

“They are the best spinners around. The wicket has been assisting slow bowlers thus far. If that is going to be the case again (on Sunday), they will definitely come into play.”

Karnataka boasts of a strong batting line-up, which includes the likes of top-scorer Devdutt Padikkal (548 runs) and India internationals KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Nair and Manish Pandey.  Vasu remarked the duel will be a match-up between Tamil Nadu bowlers and Karnataka batters. “We are looking forward to playing the game positively. We have our plans in place, but execution is the most important part,” he added.

Having guided the side to two finals in less than two months, Vasu was a pleased man.

“I am very happy with the results. The discipline and fitness level of the team has been pretty good. We (staff) worked on the mental side of things as well, boosting the players’ confidence. That’s basically what’s been happening over the last couple of months. And the new management of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has also been very supportive,” concluded Vasu.