Team Tamil Nadu was poor in the Ranji Trophy semis against Mumbai, and lost the match by a huge margin of an innings and 33 runs on Monday, which took them to their 48th final of the tournament. And after the huge loss, TN coach Sulakshan Kulkarni has opened up on the huge loss.
Ranji Trophy Semis, TN Lost Match at Toss
After the match, he did not mince his words, and clarified, that the team was clear that TN lost the match at the toss after skipper R Sai Kishore opted to bat first in helpful conditions for the bowlers.
“I always speak straightforward — we lost the match at 9 o’clock on day one,” Kulkarni was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. “The moment I saw the wicket I exactly knew what we were going to get. Everything was set, we won the toss, as a coach, as a Mumbaikar, I know the conditions well. We should have bowled but the captain had some different instinct.”
And as expected, TN’s decision to bat first backfired, badly. First, they were reduced to 42/5 in the first innings and were then bundled out for 146. Post that, they let Mumbai score 378, and were then all out for 162 in the second innings.
“When I saw that they had played on a different pitch in the quarter-final and what wicket they gave, (that) moment I realised that this is a seaming-friendly wicket and it was going to be a very tough match, we would have to play really well to win this game,” Kulkarni said.
R Sai Kishore is the Boss, Says Kulkarni
“Ultimately he [Sai Kishore] is the boss. I can give my feedback and inputs (on) the kind of wickets and Mumbai’s mindset also.”
“We were mentally prepared that whoever wins the toss would bowl first,” he said. “We knew that we would bowl first. The moment they (TV broadcast) said we would bat first, whatever you say, it goes in the batsmen’s minds. That first half an hour (before play) got in the batsmen’s minds.
“When you get into the first over, third (fourth) ball, your international player gets out and you see the situation… in the first hour, we lost the game and the plot. It was very difficult to come back.”
Having said that, TN had their fair chance to make a comeback, as Mumbai were 106/7 at one stage, but Shardul Thakur’s counter-attacking ton changed everything for Mumbai. Kulkarni then went on to praise the tail-enders for Team Mumbai.
“They are the best Nos. 9 and 10 in India. I told this in the dressing room that their batting starts after No. 6. I can take the horse to the water, (but) the horse has to drink.”
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