Tamil Nadu eyes first victory

When Tamil Nadu flourished in white ball cricket at the end of the last calendar year, who would have envisaged that the southern state side would be on red alert five games into the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2019-20 campaign?

With just three matches remaining in the round-robin phase, basement team Tamil Nadu occupies a relegation spot – 17th among 18 participants in Elite Group A and B – having collected just five points. The bottom two sides in the combined standings will drop to the Elite C division that offers promotion to a couple of outfits.

An increasingly onerous task in front of it, Baba Aparajith-led Tamil Nadu braces itself for its last home assignment against mid-table unit Railways at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here, beginning Sunday. The tourist, captained by Arindam Ghosh, has so far gathered 13 points from five fixtures, sitting in the ninth position on the table.

Tamil Nadu has been particularly disappointing on its own patch, collecting only a sole point from three contests. While the 1987-88 title-winner was second best against Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh in Dindigul, the side played out a draw against perennial powerhouse Mumbai in Chennai recently.

The D Vasu-coached team, currently in deep waters, will have to get its house in order soon if it is to avoid the humiliation of getting dropped. The home side is relying on just about the same personnel, which made it to the matchday squad against Mumbai, to get the job done. Quickie M Mohammed is the only incomer, with 14 of the other 15 names being copy pasted.

The top three, comprising Abhinav Mukund, L Suryapprakash and Kaushik Gandhi, looked in fine nick in the previous clash but couldn’t touch the magical three-figure mark. Tamil Nadu will once again depend on the triumvirate as it guns for a much-needed first victory against Railways, missing the experienced Karn Sharma.

Regular skipper Karn, a member of Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, has been forced to sit out due to a hamstring injury. The host’s middle-order, consisting of Baba Aparajith, Baba Indrajith, wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and youngster Pradosh Ranjan Paul, looked fragile against Mumbai, costing the points.

Only an improved show from it will aid Tamil Nadu, which is yet to come up with a batting masterclass this season. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and left-arm orthodox bowler R Sai Kishore played their parts in both departments in the last game, being the bright lights in times of complete darkness.

The local duo will be keen on replicating the good performances versus Railways. The visitor has been in indifferent form thus far, winning once and drawing twice while losing the remaining two matches. Just three points off the qualifying slots, it will strive to keep pace with the front-runners with a successat Chepauk.