Room for improvement: Skipper Sai Kishore will be hoping for a quick turnaround in fortunes for TN.
| Photo Credit: M. PERIASAMY
A misfiring Tamil Nadu needs to pull up its socks to get its Ranji Trophy campaign back on track when it takes on reigning champion Vidarbha in the third round Elite Group-A match starting from Saturday here at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground.
The southern side has tripped up in the first two games, going down by an innings to Jharkhand in the opening fixture at this venue and then salvaging just three points after posting 512 for three (decl.) against Nagaland in Bengaluru.
In both encounters, the TN bowlers were guilty of letting the opponents off the hook. TN had Jharkhand on the mat at 157 for six but eventually conceded 419. Similarly, Nagaland was tottering at 160 for five but managed to get 446.
With in-form left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh not available, pace spearhead Sandeep Warrier, who has managed just two wickets so far, and left-arm spinner and skipper R. Sai Kishore have to step up.
Tamil Nadu bowler Sai Kishore greets his little fan during a practice session in Coimbatore on Friday, ahead of the Ranji Trophy match against Vidarbha from November
| Photo Credit:
M. PERIASAMY
On the batting front, though Pradosh Ranjan Paul and R. Vimal Khumar scored an unbeaten 201 and 189 respectively in the previous game, sterner tests await against the sharper Vidarbha attack.
In contrast, the visitor has kick-started its title defence strongly, breezing past Nagaland with a convincing innings victory and securing the first-innings lead against Jharkhand.
These two sides last met in the quarterfinal earlier this year in Nagpur, where Vidarbha’s pacers blew away the TN top-order in both innings that set up a thumping 198-run win.
This contest will once again boil down to how well the home team’s batters tackle Vidarbha’s disciplined bowling line-up, especially when facing the new ball.
TN can ill-afford another false step, and a good outing against one of the best teams in domestic cricket could be the booster shot the host desperately requires.
Published – October 31, 2025 06:13 pm IST
