Tamil Nadu skipper R. Sai Kishore minced no words when saying that the team needs to improve its performances in away conditions after crashing out of the Ranji Trophy with a humiliating 198-run defeat to Vidarbha in the quarterfinals here on Tuesday.
“It is a disappointing loss, and there is a clear pattern in our defeats in the last two years: playing in seaming conditions away from home,” said Sai Kishore. “The opponents are out-bowling us and batting better in these conditions, and we need to get better.”
Elaborating on what needs to be done to address this recurring problem, the 28-year-old said, “There are two things: technique and mindset. We need to sort the mindset first on how to score runs in such conditions.”
“Once we identify the best method for the conditions, the technique will follow, but that hasn’t happened. As players, we must learn and return strongly,” he added.
Speaking about where the team lost the match, Sai pinpointed the 128-run lead conceded in the first-innings. “We did well to restrict them to 353; had we scored a bit more, things would have been different.”
Meanwhile, head coach L. Balaji said that although the team was disappointed and hurt by the loss, there were positives to take forward. “We failed to grab the key moments in this game, but this is a young team and will get better,” said the former India pacer.
“Youngsters like Mohamed Ali and Andre Siddarth showed their potential. After a long time, we reached the knockouts in consecutive years. As we start qualifying more regularly, we will get better. That is when the players will know how to handle the pressure and approach a five-day game.”
“Yes, acknowledge our shortcomings and work on them, but at the same time, we need to be patient and have faith,” Balaji added.
Published - February 11, 2025 09:58 pm IST
