Tamil Nadu all-rounder Mohamed Ali drew flak for his dismissal on his debut innings (5) in the Ranji Trophy in Coimbatore this year. He skipped down the pitch to Railways’ left-arm spinner Akash Pandey and played a shot, but the ball took the inside-edge on to his pad to pop up to short leg.
On Thursday (Aug. 22), the same down-the-track manoeuvre to the spinners was the highlight in his 182 (267b, 20x4, 4x6) versus Railways again. This time, it worked out for the 19-year-old.
“I received a lot of criticism for it (dismissal on Ranji debut). A lot of people said that I shouldn’t have played that shot at that time. But I did that a lot today and it clicked. It just didn’t click that day. My intention is that I should go after the balls in my slot,” said the youngster after the second day’s play in the first match for TNCA President’s XI in the ongoing Buchi Babu Memorial All India invitational cricket tournament at the Salem Cricket Foundation (SCF) ground here.
Despite his adventurous approach, he doesn’t want to be aggressive irrespective of the situation. “For this type of wicket here, it is imperative that we get as many runs as possible. I like manipulating the field. When I play shots like that, the fielders will be pushed back and it becomes easier to take singles.”
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In fact, Ali showcased his match awareness with a 497-ball 233, for which he spent over 12 hours (723 minutes) on the pitch, versus Maharashtra in the quarterfinal of the Cooch Behar Trophy u-19 cricket tournament in Coimbatore last December. For this knock, the right-hander played out 350 dot balls.
Tamil Nadu got to 475 for four in response to Maharashtra’s 489 which ended in a draw. “I knew that we just had to play it out to advance, that we needn’t even get the lead,” he said.
He gained recognition for that innings and the Ranji call-up followed soon after. As an off-spinner, it was a learning experience for him, being a part of Tamil Nadu’s spin attack with left-arm spinners Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram.
TNCA Presidents XI batter Mohamed Ali plays a shot against the Railways. | Photo Credit: LAKSHMI NARAYANAN E/The Hindu
“Senior spinners backed me. When I went for runs, they taught me how to bowl in those situations. We discussed after every match as to what better could have been done and what to practise.”
Tamil Nadu skipper Sai Kishore captained him at iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans too in the latest season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).
“Sai Kishore keeps talking with me. He taught me how to be calm in any situation,” he said.
But this is not the first time that he’s been in the presence of and learnt from experienced and established players. He was one of the 30 probables for the 2024 ICC u-19 World Cup.
This was after he’d amassed 197 off 143 balls with 17 fours and 7 sixes to help Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) successfully chase 390 with two wickets and two balls to spare against Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) in the final of an u-19 invitational one-day cricket tournament at the SSGMCE ground in Shegaon.
“We had a high performance camp in Bengaluru. Irfan Pathan, V.V.S. Laxman, and Hrishikesh Kanitkar were there. I also got to interact with players from the other States. For instance, I got to know about different practice routines - what they do for practice and for how long they practise and all.”
Asked if there is one major takeaway from this innings (182), he said: “When I put the team forward and am not self-conscious, I feel better out there in the middle.”
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