Invincible Tamil Nadu reaches promised land

After slipping up in the SMAT 2019 final against Karnataka in Surat, Tamil Nadu reached the promised land in its second attempt by defeating Baroda. It was only fitting that its title-winning run culminated with a Shahrukh Khan batting blockbuster.

However, the desired outcome didn’t come easy for the Dinesh Karthik-led team.

Leggie Murugan Ashwin, the most experienced of the spin-bowling lot, joined his teammates despite a personal loss a few days prior to the start of the T20 competition. Tamil Nadu did not have the services of seniors Ravichandran Ashwin, Thangarasu Natarajan and Washington Sundar for the entire event.

To make matters worse, vice-captain Vijay Shankar cut short his participation with an injury in the very first match in Kolkata. During the tournament knockouts, bowling attack spearhead Sandeep Warrier was asked to join the India camp in Chennai as a net bowler for the upcoming four-match Test series against England. But Tamil Nadu overcame the adversities and reacted positively under the tutelage of head coach D Vasu.

“I am pretty pleased with the victory. All the players chipped in. Karthik is an experienced campaigner and we expected him to lead us well,” Vasu, who along with the rest of the contingent landed in the city on Monday, told DT Next. “We have worked out a process. I have always maintained that the harder we work, the luckier we get. I told the players that they should not take their places for granted. That was the initial message I gave the team,” said Vasu.

Through the course of SMAT 2021, Tamil Nadu ran through its rivals, maintaining an eightmatch unbeaten run that resulted in a perfect climax. Vasu revealed that the talk in the dressing room was to play hard cricket from the get go. “With the way the competition was shaping up, we had to win all the group matches to qualify for the knockouts. Remaining unbeaten isn’t a surprise to me.

The league stage was a bit easy as we didn’t face many strong teams. But in T20, you can’t take any team lightly,” added Vasu, a former NCA coach.

On going the distance despite the absence of a number of vital cogs, Vasu asserted: “Stars will come and go, but cricket goes on.

We will have to work with the players we have. The player who qualifies to the team should prove himself and be the next star.” With SMAT done, Tamil Nadu will shift its focus to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which is expected to begin in the second week of this month. “We have work to do. Life goes on,” remarked Vasu 

The Tamil Nadu Men’s Senior State Selection Committee chairman S Vasudevan was all praise for the state side, which came up trumps in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2021 in Ahmedabad on Sunday. “The team did well. All the players performed and not a single one failed to make a contribution. That is the speciality of the victory,” said Vasudevan. Having won the inaugural edition of SMAT in the 2006-07 season, Tamil Nadu added a second T20 trophy to its cabinet. “We had a good blend of experience and youth. And, the team lived up to its billing. It feels satisfying to have ended a 14-year drought,” added Vasudevan.

Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) secretary RS Ramasaamy hailed the southern state team for its outstanding showing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2021. In the final at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, Tamil Nadu beat Baroda by seven wickets. “It is a fantastic victory. We never looked like losing from Game 1. Hopefully, Tamil Nadu takes the form into the Vijay Hazare Trophy,” said top TNCA official Ramasaamy.