Tamil Nadu bowlers hit right length, against Karnataka: Kanitkar

Coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar has groomed a side that was lacking in self-belief after last year’s shoddy performance and most of the players and officials credit the success of this side to the former Maharashtra batsman. 

What came as a surprise when TN reached Vizag was the amount of grass on the pitch. But Kanitkar said he wasn’t surprised. “It was a green top alright,” said the coach. “But then, we knew that we would not get turning tracks and that was the pattern this year.” He said only three or four overs of spin were there during the entire match. 

Whether the wicket was prepared with a definite plan by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Kanitkar does not know but he said his side got two lively pitches in the earlier matches. 

“This wicket was seaming. It was sportive,” said Kanitkar. “Our bowlers hit the right length and put the ball in the right areas and that was the difference.”

The TN coach was pleased to find his medium-pacers get the better of the Karnataka pacers, who have all played at the higher level. “They were more experienced but we bowled better than them. But honestly, I did not expect the match to get over in two days,” confessed the coach. 

He said the boys delivered when it mattered. “I would give credit to the batsmen too because it takes one good ball to lose the wicket and they responded to the challenge well,” Kanitkar said and added he would not want to look at the next challenge in the semi-finals. “Every day is a new day for us and I don’t look at the plans for Rajkot, probably against Mumbai in the next match.” 

In fact, TN had faltered against Mumbai in their opening match this season. Krishnamoorthy Vignesh, who took four wickets against Karnataka on the second day at Vizag, had begun his career in terrific fashion against Mumbai taking nine wickets (5/41) and 4/29). Vignesh tallied 37 wickets in his debut season from eight matches.

For someone like Sunil Subramaniam, the former left-arm spinner of TN, the match against Karnataka has “an intensity equal in its emotional appeal to any of sport’s legendary rivalries. The quality of the contest is always rivetting.” 

According to Subramaniam, Karnataka got the better of TN in recent times. “Karnataka has been the team to beat and in the last few, have won every domestic trophy there is,” says Subramaniam. “Given such a scenario and an added handicap for this particular game wherein Karnataka had the services of the heroes of the recently concluded Test series and TN did not, the win is indeed commendable.” 

The former spinner, who coached R Ashwin, rates this as Tamil Nadu’s better wins and arguably the best in recent times.