Ajith Ram’s seven-wicket haul helps TN wrap up facile win against Chandigarh

The writing on the wall was as clear as the blue sky above. And it took Tamil Nadu just 47 deliveries on the final morning to complete its domination over Chandigarh, crushing the host by an innings and 260 runs in its Ranji Trophy Elite Group D fourth-round encounter at the Sector-16 Ground here on Thursday.

The victory, its third on the bounce this season, fetched TN seven points, including a bonus point, taking its tally to 21. Left-arm spinner S. Ajith Ram continued from where he left off on Wednesday, dismissing Rohit Dhanda and Nikhil Sharma in the same over before returning to send back Jagjit Sandhu and bring the curtains down on a one-sided contest.

Following the victory, head coach Yo Mahesh and skipper R. Sai Kishore spoke to The Hindu about how things have fallen into place for their side this season. “Credit to the support staff for creating an environment where we have a lot of freedom to express ourselves.

We feel secure. Because of that energy, a lot of things are going our way,” said Sai Kishore. For Yo Mahesh, the results have come from playing as a unit rather than relying on individual brilliance. “Historically, we’ve always had a very skilled and talented bunch of cricketers.

Whenever we have played as a team, we’ve got results going our way,” he said. Sai Kishore, meanwhile, was pleased with the camaraderie within the side. “Everyone is gelling together. Everyone is happy for each other’s success,” he said.

And there was perhaps no better illustration of that than what unfolded at the presentation ceremony. Pradosh Ranjan Paul produced an encore of his own. Adjudged Player of the Match for his double-century, he requested that the honour be given to teammate Ajith Ram, just as he had done last season for Nagaland’s Imliwati Lemtur following his match-saving hundred at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

The scores: Tamil Nadu – 1st innings: 571 for seven decl. Chandigarh – 2nd innings: Nehal Pajni c Ajitesh b Sai Kishore 26, Arjun Azad st Jagadeesan b Ajith Ram 60, Manan Vohra lbw b Saravana Kumar 59, Arjit Pannu c & b Ajith Ram 9, Akshit Rana lbw b Ajith Ram 13, Bhagmender Lather c Indrajith b Ajith Ram 0, Chiragvir Dhindsa c Ajitesh b Sai Kishore 1, Nikhil Sharma lbw b Ajith Ram 16, Rohit Dhanda c Ajitesh b Ajith Ram 1, Nishunk Birla (not out) 4, Jagjit Sandhu b Ajith Ram 15; Extras (b-3, lb-9, w-1, nb-1): 14; Total in 64.5 overs: 218.

Fall of wickets: 1-73, 2-122, 3-155, 4-174, 5-174, 6-175, 7-185, 8-193, 9-194. Tamil Nadu bowling: Gurjapneet 10-1-44-0, Saravana Kumar 11-2-34-1, Sai Kishore 15-2-47-2, Sonu 8-3-28-0, Ajith Ram 19.5-5-48-7, Pradosh 1-0-5-0.