Tamil Nadu, a potent force in the limited overs format in recent years, failed to defend its Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title this year after crashing out in the group stages.
Ahead of the Vijay Hazare Trophy — the team finished runner-up last year — the TN squad got some vital match preparation by playing a visiting Bangladesh XI that had a number of international cricketers with Test caps under their belt.
In the two one-day matches, the hosts completely outplayed the visitors while also giving a chance to all members and will feel bullish about its chances with the morale-boosting wins.
Speaking after the two victories, skipper B. Indrajith was pleased with his team’s showing and was grateful for these matches.
Tamil Nadu XI skipper B. Indrajith scored 50 runs during the one-day match against Bangladesh XI at MAC Stadium in Chennai on November 6, 2022. | Photo Credit: R. RAGU
Explaining how it was to play a side with international cricketers, Indrajith said, “I think we are really lucky we got to play against a very good side. More than their skill levels, it is the intensity with which they played that was important. It meant we also had to raise our levels and our intensity was higher than if we had just played matches amongst ourselves.”
Apart from most batters getting decent runs across the two games, the team was dominant while defending scores. It got the first five wickets cheaply such that Indrajith could afford to use his part-time bowlers even if it meant allowing the opposition off the hook for a while.
B. Indrajith. | Photo Credit: R. RAGU
“I wanted everyone to get in the groove before the tournament and I wanted to know my options as well. We have quite a few batters who can chip in with the ball and that was the best time for me to try,” said Indrajith after the first match.
“I told the boys that the tournament starts here. We are now quite confident going into the tournament and feel like we have ticked all our boxes,” he added.
