Tamil Nadu captain Lakshmipathy Balaji said here on Wednesday that there was no reason why his side should not do well under pressure in the summit clash. “This team has come through tough situations before,” he said.
He added, “I have played finals in different formats before. So this is nothing new for me. I am sure the side would do well.”
Balaji said ahead of the Ranji final, “Both Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan are good teams. It should be a keen contest. We are all looking forward to the match.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Praise for pacemen
He had words of praise for pacemen V. Yomahesh and J. Kaushik. “The team had faith in Yomahesh and gave him an extended run. He has come good. Kaushik has been impressive in his first season.”
On the left-handed R. Prasanna's vital contributions with the willow, he said, “He has made a lot of runs in the first division league and he has returned a better player.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Rajasthan captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar felt Tamil Nadu had always been a tough team to overcome. “Some of the cricketers from Tamil Nadu have a lot of experience. And because of a strong league structure, the youngsters are good.”
Kanitkar said the team members stayed together at the Rajasthan Cricket Association in Jaipur and this, he pointed out, helped in the bonding of the players.
The Rajasthan captain revealed his message to the younger players was, “Cricketers are going to make mistakes. But it is okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. This took the fear away from the youngsters,” Kanitkar said.