Ranji Trophy: Stuttering Tamil Nadu look to iron out a few creases

Tamil Nadu started off badly, getting bundled out for 82 in their second innings against defending champions Karnataka at Chinnaswamy. An outright win over Jammu & Kashmir was a good recovery but they slipped again, conceding first innings lead to Madhya Pradesh and Railways. Against Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu were asked to follow-on before a Dinesh Karthik century prevented further embarrassment. They just haven’t been putting enough runs on the board.

While Abhinav Mukund (four matches, 483 runs at 60.37, including a century and three fifties) and Dinesh Karthik (four matches, 257 runs at 42.83, including a century) have showed signs of form, Baba Aparajith — four matches, 181 runs at 22.62 — and Baba Indrajith — four matches, 213 runs at 30.42 and Prasanna (four matches, 198 runs at 33.00) are yet to play to their potential.

Mukund’s contribution notwithstanding, the problem for Tamil Nadu starts right at the top.

Unsettled openers

Even after four matches, Tamil Nadu don’t have a settled opening pair. Kaushik Gandhi partnered Mukund in the first two games before being replaced by K Bharat Shankar, who played against Madhya Pradesh and Railways and made six and 45, and four and one respectively. Prasanna spoke about inexperience. “This is an inexperienced batting unit. The team is going through transition and we need some time to settle down. Yes, batting is an area of concern. We are not capitalising on the starts. With time, however, the young players will learn to be more consistent,” he said.

But the fact is that this is not a callow batting line-up like Mumbai. They’ve enough experience in Mukund, Karthik, R Satish, Baba Aparajith and Prasanna. Application is missing from their effort.

Bowlers have performed decently as a unit. Off-spinner Malolan Rangarajan has made a mark with 18 wickets in four matches at 27.55. Left-arm spinners Rahil Shah and Aushik Srinivas have bagged 13 wickets apiece. Spin is Tamil Nadu’s strength and barring the first match against Karnataka, they’ve played on turners. Eden Gardens, however, presents a different challenge.

Seamers missing in action

There’s nip in the air and grass on the surface. The visitors might have to change their strategy. Then again, Tamil Nadu seamers are yet to make an impact this season, individually and collectively. Lakshmipathy Balaji has only three wickets in three matches at 56.00. Jagannathan Kaushik and M Mohammed have played one game each. Little wonder that Prasanna is mulling over playing two specialist spinners even on a green-top. “We are likely to go with two spinners in this game as well. A final call will be made tomorrow morning,” he said.

Bengal won’t mind facing the spinners. After being tormented by Vinay Kumar and Co and then Shardul Thakur in their last two matches, the hosts would be happy to get a respite.

Two out-of-form sides would be in action. At the halfway stage, Tamil Nadu are placed fifth with eight points from four matches. Bengal lie at the foot of the table with four points from three matches. But this is a new year, and both teams have the opportunity to start afresh.