Chennai, Jan 23: Chasing 621 runs in the Ranji Trophy final, hosts Tamil Nadu, who boast of a line-up comprising of batsmen like Abhinav Mukund, S Badrinath, Murali Vijay and Dinesh Karthik, were bowled out for just 295 runs, allowing Rajasthan to win their second title on the trot. In the post-match media-interaction, Tamil Nadu skipper L Balaji congratulated Rajasthan while speaking about his team’s journey to the final.
Excerpts:
On the team
[It was a] very good journey. [For] 37 days we stuck together. We take a lot of positives from here.
On the final
It’s all about how you finish and we were definitely not up to the mark. Their resilience, temperament and patience won them the game. My hearty congratulations to Vineet [Saxena] and Aakash [Chopra] and Hrishi [Hrishikesk Kanitkar] who all played and played. That’s what you want in knockout games and that’s what they showed.
On the pitch
Normally I am not a great believer in the toss and wicket. I rely more on skill and intelligence and courage, so this match was not dependent on the toss. The wicket was a bit flat but no complaints. Better skill won, better intelligence won and I give all the credit to the opposition.
On Aushik Srinivas
He has been one of [our] major strengths. He would have learnt a lot [from the tournament]. He will go to the next level and perform for the state again and again in the future. I wish him all luck. 90 overs is not easy; it definitely was hard work.
