Ranji Trophy 2015: Rahil Shah spins Railways off track
Rahil Shah finished with figures of 4/38 to restrict Railways to 240 in their second innings. (Express Photo by: Ravi Kanojia)
Having missed out bowling on the first two days due to back spasms, Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner Rahil Shah needed just six overs to pick four Railways’ wickets on the final day of the Ranji Trophy Group B match. With impressive figures of 6-2-9-4, the spinner set up an easy win for the visitors.
First to go was V Cheluvaraj. The opener, Railways’ highest scorer in the game, was resisting Tamil Nadu’s charge to victory with some dogged batting. But he never looked comfortable facing Shah in the final session of the third day’s play. The opener kept playing with his body and when he used his bat this morning, he could only manage to edge Shah to Dinesh Karthik behind stumps.
His departure suddenly exposed Railways batting woes and with Mahesh Rawat sent back to the pavilion in the space of three overs, the visitors took little time to wrap up the tail, and bundle out the hosts for 240. A modest chase of 77 awaited Tamil Nadu. Hopes of a bonus point, however, went away early with Abhinav Mukund, who was bowled by a Anureet Singh delivery which, after pitching halfway down the track, never bounced.
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In walked Dinesh Karthik who was in a hurry to wrap this game. He smoked a 40-ball 43 to help Tamil Nadu run down the total in 23.2 overs. The right-hander didn’t stay there till the end but his cameo was enough.
The eight-wicket win took the Mukund-led unit to third in the points table led by Mumbai, the only team they have lost to so far. Mumbai are also the only side Tamil Nadu haven’t bowled out in the opportunities on offer.
Mumbai apart, Tamil Nadu bowlers have been on song. The bowling unit has bowled out oppositions in all their group encounters and kept the side interested for an outright win.
L Balaji, Tamil Nadu’s player-cum-bowling-coach this season, is happy with the way the department is shaping up and he has no plans to take field and disturb the successful combination.
“See the plan is to take twenty wickets, and they (bowlers) have been achieving that. I don’t want to disturb the combination. But again you never know. Ranji Trophy is a long season,” says Balaji.
If it was Shah — the left-arm spinner — who set the tone with a brilliant show in the tournament opener, seamers backed it up with impressive performances in the games to follow. From spin at Chepauk to seamer-friendly strip at Karnail Singh, Tamil Nadu bowlers have bowled at different wickets and adapted well. Balaji, too, feels it’s less about the track and more about how the bowlers adjust to different wickets.
“I think it’s not about tracks, it’s more about how you adjust — to situations in each and every condition. The tracks, here in India, will be more or less similar. Here and there will be a wicket with something different but more or less it will be bit of the same. As a bowler, it’s important to evolve. It’s okay to make mistakes but important to learn from them. Understanding and adaptation is very important according to me,” says Balaji.
Apart from Shah, who is 30, the Tamil Nadu attack wears a fresh look. Aware about the inexperience in the ranks, Balaji feels it’s important the core unit sticks together and understands each other’s roles to be able to execute a plan in the middle.
“See they have to fail, experiment, fail again, experiment again and keep doing that till they find a solution. In the end they have to do it in the middle. If they keep doing it and keep understanding each other’s role, plans, they will develop into a good bowling unit,” says Balaji.
‘No shortcuts’
The Tamil Nadu veteran bowler feels there are no shortcuts for success in the Ranji Trophy. He adds it’s important to be patient and a prime bowler should be ready to bowl long spells, and keep repeating the drill on a consistent basis. “A prime bowler should be prepared to bowl 40-45 balls. Ranji Trophy is no joke. It’s a long season and it’s all about endurance. Good example of that is Anureet (Singh) who bowled 40 odd overs and still kept coming. Endurance is basic and has to be emphasised,” says Balaji.
Apart from the skill and hard work, Balaji feels the younger crop of Tamil Nadu bowlers need to put efforts to turn into an intelligent campaigner. Skill, he feels, coupled with an intelligent brain can do wonders in the middle. “Pace or spin alone will not help you take wickets. You need to understand the conditions and wickets too, and how to bowl with the old ball. When you are looking to try things, intelligence comes handy. M Rangarajan is quite intelligent. You need to be courageous, need to be intelligent and ready to bowl long spells. You have to be like a boxer — take the game to the 15th round,” says Balaji.
Apart from specialists, Tamil Nadu have the luxury of not one but three all-rounders in their ranks. Vijay Shankar and J Kousik bowl seam-up while Rangarajan, apart from his offie, is very useful with the bat lower down the order. “They (all-rounders) are key. They give the captain a lot of cushion in the middle. A couple of batting all-rounders, especially fast bowling all-rounders, allows the frontline bowlers to take breaks. If the all-rounders can perform, it puts the entire unit in aggression mode. Everyone will go all out,” says Balaji.
Tamil Nadu: 328 & 77 for 2 in 23.2 overs (D Karthik 43; A Singh 2/43) beat Railways 164 & 240 (V Cheluvaraj 88, Mahesh Rawat 78; Rahil Shah 4/38) by eight wickets.
Points: Tamil Nadu 6, Railways 0.
