TN coach Kanitkar hopeful of positive result

“We have to give credit where it’s due and Andhra batted well on this track. They kept the singles coming, something we couldn’t do, and we tried to stem the flow but the ball also became softer,” said the coach. Kanitkar singled out the knock played by B Sumanth (76 batting) and highlighted his partnership with Ashwin Hebbar. 

“Sumanth underlined the value of staying at the crease. He tired our bowlers out and played to his strengths by trusting his instincts,” added the 42-year-old. Kanitkar wasn’t too harsh on MS Washington Sundar for dropping a straightforward catch of Ashwin Hebbar. 

“In hindsight, we could say that the catch could have made a difference. But there is no point in dwelling on it,” explained Kanitkar. With two full days remaining, Kanitkar was hopeful that Tamil Nadu would bat a lot better in the second innings and then put its opponent under pressure. The star of Andhra’s batting, B Sumanth, said while his team is happy at taking the lead, it would look to bat for as long as possible on day three. 

“We aren’t thinking of lead in terms of runs. Our focus is on batting because if we do that the runs will automatically come,” assessed Sumanth. “It was a good track to bat on but I chose not to play too many shots. The wicket was not aiding the spinners as much as we thought it would. Hebbar and I took it session by session and we looked to play positively. It was disappointing that Hebbar got out for 64. He was looking good to get a hundred,” said Sumanth.