Two spinners and three seamers have proved an effective combination for us: mentor Balaji

Tamil Nadu played to its potential in handing Railways an eight-wicket defeat in a Group B Ranji Trophy match at the Karnail Singh Stadium here on Monday. Resuming at 200 for four, Railways slid to 240 all out and gave Tamil Nadu a target of 77, which it achieved without any fuss.
Left-arm spinner Rahil Shah hastened the Railways decline with a four-wicket strike, including the wicket of Mahesh Rawat, 77 overnight. Medium-pacer J. Kousik removed opener V. Cheluvaraj, who added a mere eight runs, as Railways suffered its fourth defeat in five outings.
Tamil Nadu collected six points to be third in the table with 15 points from four matches behind Mumbai (17 from four) and Punjab (17 from five).
Collective effort
Tamil Nadu mentor L. Balaji praised the bowlers for their collective effort. “It is a young bowling unit and has adapted well. The bowlers know their responsibilities and are aware of the situation.
“Two spinners and three seamers have proved an effective combination for us. As we move forward, we would encounter situations but I am confident the bowling unit will develop.”
Balaji said that the next half, despite three home games, is going to be challenging. “We have to adapt to spinner-friendly tracks. It is a learning curve in the field and they have to learn to handle the situation themselves. They have to learn to find a way and evolve as cricketers.”
This away-win should boost the confidence of the Tamil Nadu squad where the emphasis is on collective contribution. “We won’t disturb the combination without reason. The youngsters are beginning to take the load and have come to understand that they need to create opportunities. It is not about the pitches but about adapting to domestic cricket challenges.”
Speaking about medium-fast bowler Aswin Crist, who took six wickets in the first innings, Balaji said, “You need skills, courage and intelligence for success as a bowler. He has the attributes. Pace alone does not help and you have to learn to use the old ball. He is becoming a smart bowler.”
The scores:
Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: 328.
Railways — 1st innings: 164.
Railways — 2nd innings: Saurabh Wakaskar c Prasanna b Shankar 8, V. Cheluvaraj c Karthik b Shah 88, Faiz Ahmed c Indrajith b Malolan 10, Ashish Yadav lbw b Malolan 10, Arindam Ghosh c Karthik b Mohammed 7, Mahesh Rawat lbw b Kousik 78, R. Jonathan c Crist b Kousik 18, Bhima Rao c Vijay Shankar b Shah 11, Anureet Singh c Shankar b Shah 1, Krishnakant Upadhyay c R. Prasanna b Shah 0, Ranjeet Mali (not out) 0; Extras (b-3, lb-5, nb-1): 9; Total (in 88.2 overs): 240.
Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-44, 3-60, 4-77, 5-207, 6-215, 7-227, 8-233, 9-238.
Tamil Nadu bowling: Aswin Crist 10-0-33-0, M. Mohammed 14-5-37-1, Vijay Shankar 9-3-26-1, J. Kousik 23.2-12-45-2, Malolan Rangarajan 12-3-46-2, Rahil Shah 19-6-38-4, B. Aparajith 1-0-7-0.
Tamil Nadu — 2nd innings: B. Aparajith (not out) 10, Abhinav Mukund b Anureet 8, Dinesh Karthik c Bhima b Anureet 43, Vijay Shankar (not out) 3; Extras (lb-1, nb-1, w-11): 13; Total (for two wkts in 23.2 overs): 77.
Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-73.
Railways bowling: Anureet Singh 12-5-43-2, Krishnakant Upadhyay 2-0-4-0, Ashish Yadav 6-1-22-0, Ranjeet Mali 3.2-0-7-0.