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Local League: Anirudh steps up to senior level
Had it not been for an eye infection, opener Anirudh Sitaram would have probably played his first Ranji Trophy match for Tamil Nadu last season. Shaking off that disappointment, the 23-year-old left-handed batsman excelled in the Col. CK Nayudu Trophy with a string of impressive performances.
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Anirudh carried on in the same vein in the recently concluded BCCI U-23 south zone one-day tournament where he scored two hundreds. He was in a belligerent mood in the last match against his former team Hyderabad when he smashed his way to an unbeaten 103 with his team chasing 173.
His effort didn’t go unnoticed as he earned a call-up for the Tamil Nadu senior team for the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament.
Speaking about the disappointment of staying on the sidelines battling an eye infection, Anirudh recollected how tough it was for him to stay away from the game.
“I had a viral infection to my eye which kept me indoors for a month. That was a difficult phase. I couldn’t open my eyes for 10 days. It happened before the first game against Andhra.
I played in Buchi Babu and was also part of the senior team camp that went to Dehradun. It was only after I came back that I was affected by it. I couldn’t practise during that month and even when I was playing for TN U-23 in the CK Nayudu Trophy, it was bothering me,” said Anirudh.
Anirudh elaborated on the changes he made to suit his game to his team’s needs in the shorter format.
“Being an opener, I look to make optimum use of the powerplay. In the game against Hyderabad, I was looking to occupy the crease initially and was content taking singles and rotating the strike. I was not in a hurry.
I felt in good nick and after crossing 100, I accelerated. I fell for 78 against Andhra and my plan for the next game after crossing fifty was to convert it into a big score, which I did,” added the southpaw.
Being the host and boasting of some quality players, much was expected from TN, but all that the host could manage was a lowly fourth place with two wins and three losses.
“The team hasn’t done justice to our potential. We lost some close matches which we ought to have won and it was disappointing. In terms of talent, we can match up to the best in the country,” remarked Anirudh.
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