Skipper and left-arm spinner M. Siddharth scripted a turnaround win for TNCA President’s XI, as his eight for 21 helped his team bowl out Gujarat for a meek 58 and chase down a 219-run target with five wickets to spare on day three of the Group-B match in the third round of the Buchi Babu Memorial All India invitational cricket tournament at the Salem Cricket Foundation (SCF) ground here on Thursday.
By virtue of this win, TNCA President’s XI topped its group to qualify for the semifinals.
Siddharth picked up six wickets on the day. He finished with a match haul of fourteen for 97.
The pitch initially seemed a spinner’s delight with the ball turning, bouncing, and at times keeping low. The batters had to bat with the caution of navigating a minefield. Often, they seemed to genuinely but deludedly think that the front-foot block would keep all the discomfort in the world at bay.
Thus, it allowed Siddharth and his fellow left-arm spinner P. Vignesh to use the arm-ball to trap three unsuspecting batters plumb in front.
Urvil Patel (duck) tried otherwise and looked to counter-attack, but missed his slog sweep on the second ball he faced to be bowled by Siddharth. This was after Kshitij Patel (2) edged a wide delivery off his front-foot poke to Radhakrishnan at gully in the same over.
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Later, Siddharth had left-hander Siddharth Desai (2) chip one straight to Jhathavedh Subramanyan at mid off, and Priyajitsinh Jadeja (golden duck) defend on the front foot and expose his front pad to his arm-ball for back-to-back wickets.
In between, Dhrushant Soni (10) edged off his forward defence to Radhakrishnan at slip off Siddharth, who had Aditya Patel (18) fall prey (lbw) to his arm-ball for his first wicket of the day.
TNCA batters, seemingly having sensed that playing positively was the best approach on the wicket, attacked in the chase.
C. Andre Siddarth slammed an unbeaten 115 (94b, 15x4, 4x6). He hit back-to-back sixes off Rinkesh Vaghela’s off-spin - a pull to deep midwicket, and a down-the-track hit to long off. He also cleared the long on fielder for a six off left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai, who also conceded three fours in the same over to him.
Siddarth hit three fours in the same over off medium-pacer Dhrushant Soni too. The batter produced the winning shot - a slog sweep off Siddharth Desai to deep midwicket for a six.
Siddharth Desai, who picked up four for 87, finished with a match haul of ten for 148. Andre Siddarth, who’d also scored an unbeaten 55 in TNCA’s first innings, was declared the player-of-the match.
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