Ranji Trophy: We could not solve ‘away’ puzzle, says Tamil Nadu captain Sai Kishore

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu faltering in crucial Ranji Trophy matches, especially away from home, is becoming a recurring theme in recent times.

The semifinal defeat to Mumbai last season, recent group-stage loss to Jharkhand and quarterfinal drubbing received at the hands of Vidarbha on Tuesday are cases in point. When put under the pump in not-so-familiar conditions, TN, as a team, has struggled to cope with the pressure although it has seen individuals rise to the occasion. Skipper R Sai Kishore put it down to TN’s inability to crack the ‘away’ puzzle.

“In such an important game, we should not have played the way we played. How we play on such pitches is a concern. I would say that we are getting better, but we have to improve on it. It is about adapting to the conditions. In such conditions, we are struggling as a batting unit. We are struggling to run through opposition teams. There is a lack of awareness about how we need to play,” Sai Kishore told TOI after Vidarbha proved too good for TN in Nagpur.

“We have found the pattern that clicks in home games. If we find the pattern for away matches, we can put in a collective effort. It is a puzzle which needs to be solved. There is a process to solve the puzzle, but we have not found that process yet,” admitted Sai Kishore, whose fighting five-wicket haul in Vidarbha’s second innings eventually went in vain.

The captain emphasised on the need to play with better mental resilience in key fixtures. “I would not say that we are losing because of big-match pressure. It is all about taking responsibility. Irrespective of the nature of the pitch, I come in with the mentality to take 10 wickets. When we face difficult situations, we, as individuals, need to put our hands up and perform. If we have that mentality, it will help the team,” Sai Kishore said.

‘Our batting effort was not enough’: Sai Kishore felt that TN should have delivered much better batting performances against Vidarbha. On a surface where there were not many demons, none of the top-five batters managed to cross the 30-run mark in either innings, with their no-show heavily denting TN’s chances.

“Definitely, our batting effort was not enough. On this pitch and against their (Vidarbha) bowling, we were nowhere close (to where we should have been). The pitch was not doing too much. Collectively, we should have done more with the bat.”