Tushar Deshpande came on to bowl in the ninth over of the day and broke the back of the Tamil Nadu top-order with three crucial strikes to put Mumbai in command on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal.
“A good day. We wanted to bowl first, and what stood out was how we bowled in the right channels instead of going for individual strengths,” said Deshpande.
“It was important to bowl in the right areas rather than bowling haywire with higher speeds, and it paid rich dividends.”
The 28-year-old pacer also spoke about how vital it is not to get swayed by the conditions where there is good bounce and carry in terms of finding the proper lengths.
Tamil Nadu’s Sai Kishore Bowled by Tushar Deshpande during the Ranji Trophy Semi Finals between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu held at BKC MCA Ground in Mumbai on Friday. | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini/The Hindu
“On this pitch, it (length) was fuller and around the off-stump,” Deshpande explained. “It looks good from the outside if the ball is bouncing above chest-high. But the effect the good-length ball gives is not there in that ball. On such a pitch, the more effective you bowl, the more wickets you get.”
‘We could have done much better’
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s top-scorer Vijay Shankar felt the batters did not do a good enough job in challenging conditions. “Anything around 200-220 would have been a good total. We could have done much better as a batting unit,” said the TN all-rounder.
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“They were bowling in good areas. As batters, we need to respect that and play out that session. You can’t step out to try and disturb the length. We can do it differently. We both (Washington and I) batted well in that phase, where we had a chance to build a partnership.”
Vijay Shankar (right) felt the batters did not do a good enough job in challenging conditions against Mumbai on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 semifinal. | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini/The Hindu
“If a bowler is bowling well, we need to respect that. You can’t say, ‘I am good enough to take [him] on.’ In a five-day game, if you throw your wicket and feel bad for the rest of the day, it makes no sense as a batter. At least take a challenge and fight it out. If it comes out good, you feel happy. If not, you have a chance to learn from it and get better as a cricketer. Throwing away is not an option,” Vijay added.
The 33-year-old defended the decision to bat first and said it gives the team’s spinners R. Sai Kishore and S. Ajith Ram, who are leading the list of wicket-takers, the best conditions to operate in as the pitch wears out.
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