Backing: Kulkarni stated that he wouldn’t absolutely blame Sai Kishore as the skipper’s instincts had labored properly in the match.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
At the finish of day two, R. Sai Kishore defended his choice to bat first on a pitch with beneficiant grass masking that was pleasant to the seamers, saying he felt batting final could be troublesome.
The Tamil Nadu skipper stated, “I do a lot of things out of my instinct. It was my decision, and that instinct has worked so far. Only by day five, we will know if it is correct.”
Unfortunately, the TN batters didn’t put up a battle to make sure both the match lasted 5 days or Mumbai batted once more.
After the humiliating innings defeat, TN coach Sulakshan Kulkarni didn’t mince phrases when he stated his facet lost the match at 9 a.m. on the first day.
“The way we played, we could have done better. We won the toss, and we should have bowled. We planned everything and decided to play three seamers by dropping a batter who had done well. The main idea was that if we win the toss, we will bowl,” stated Kulkarni.
While he was crucial of the captain’s choice to bat first, the coach felt he might see why the skipper selected to do what he did. “I wouldn’t fully blame him either because if you look at it positively, it has worked for him, and he got the team to the semis.”
Though Sai Kishore was the greatest bowler in the match after taking six wickets, he lacked assist from the different finish, and the coach conceded that fellow left-arm spinner S. Ajith Ram was under-utilised.
Despite the disappointment of the loss and the efforts of the batters who didn’t adapt to pacer-friendly circumstances, the 57-year-old praised their efforts this season. “A few batters scored more than 500 runs, and Indrajith played some crucial knocks against Karnataka, Punjab and even today. It gives a lot of pleasure watching his batting.”
“We have done well to reach the semifinals after a long time, though a trophy would have been better and icing on the cake,” stated Kulkarni.
