Nagpur: One of the persistent challenges holding Tamil Nadu back in the Ranji Trophy has been their batters’ struggle to handle seaming conditions.
On Sunday, history repeated itself as the top order collapsed against top-quality new-ball bowling from Vidarbha’s pacers in the quarterfinal clash.
At the close of play on day two, Tamil Nadu found themselves in trouble at 159 for six, still trailing Vidarbha’s first-innings total by 194 runs. However, TN coach L. Balaji remains optimistic, believing there is enough time left for his team to stage a comeback.
“This is a five-day game, and there’s still plenty of time. Our goal tomorrow is to get as close to their total as possible and then give ourselves a chance to fight back,” said the former India pacer.
Balaji recalled a match against Karnataka last year when Tamil Nadu nearly chased down a massive fourth-innings target despite conceding a significant lead.
He also praised Andre Siddarth’s innings, emphasizing that his counter-attacking approach was perhaps the best way to bat in these conditions.
“You can’t just survive in these conditions—you need to have a counter-attacking mindset, and Andre executed that well. His stroke play was exactly what was required and gave us some momentum,” Balaji added.
“Yes, I would have been happier if he had carried on, but there’s some inexperience there. He’s talented and has been showing it in the middle since the start of the season.”
Assessing his team’s bowling performance, the 43-year-old admitted they may have conceded 30 to 40 extra runs but was pleased that they managed to bowl out the opposition in the first session on day two.