TN Ranji Semi Final 2024 Coach Captain Public Spat

Sandhu in 85, Shardul in 24

At Lords, in 1991, Azhar went against Bedi's instructions, chose to bowl first and England amassed 650runs with Gooch scoring a triple hundred

Like Bedi, Kulkarni let out his frustration against Captain Sai. Unfortunately, TN lost the match not at the toss but on the 2nd afternoon when they let Bombay slip from 100/7 

Over the last 36 hours, in the aftermath of TN’s exit from this year’s Ranji Trophy following another  big defeat against Bombay, there has been a public spat on the reasons for the defeat. Interestingly almost all the leading media houses have let go an important phase in the match and instead focused on the more juicy part of the post match conference of Captain Sai and Coach Sulakshan Kulkarni.

Batting on a seamer friendly wicket after winning the toss, TN was bowled out for less than 150. Following the innings defeat Kulkarni has held that the team lost the match at the toss. He pointed out that the idea of TN picking three fast bowlers was to take advantage of the conditions and that it was lost after the team chose to bat. He also said that in his discussion with Sai just ahead of the toss, he wanted TN to bowl first if he won the toss. 

Minutes later, Sai followed his instincts and chose to bat for he felt that the team had an advantage bowling fourth as the two spinners had picked up over 85 wickets in the season (it turned out later there was no fourth innings in the match as TN lost by an innings on the third day).

                                            Sai Kishore- from his X page

In a cricket world that is now dominated by social media opinions, former players have hit out against the coach for letting down his captain and the team in public.

However, this public spat between the captain and coach is nothing new and not restricted to domestic cricket. Way back in 1991, on India’s tour to England, Bishen Singh Bedi, who was designated as the manager on tour (there were no coaches in those days) asked Azhar to bat first at Lords if he won the toss and went around for a walk around the stadium. 

And similar to Sai Kishore, Azhar followed his instincts and chose to bowl on what was to turn out to be one of the flattest wickets later in the match. However, there too, similar to this match, there was a big opportunity that came its way that was not capitalised.

Within the first hour of play, Kiran More dropped a sitter when Gooch was not yet in his 30s and he went on to score his first and only triple hundred as England amassed over 650runs. Interestingly, Gooch was so shocked after having edged that ball that he did not run the single even though the ball went towards third man. Had that catch been taken in that first hour when there was movement, things may have been different. As it turned out, Gooch had a glorious run scoring a century in the 2nd innings as well. 

This match is also known for one of the best test innings played by an Indian batsman at Lords with Azhar scoring a scintillating century at better than run a ball. No bowler in the opposition rank had an answer to his masterful stroke play. Later that innings, Kapil Dev hit Hemmings for four successive sixers to save the follow on.

On that first morning, when Bedi heard that India were bowling he was furious that Azhar went against his decision. Bedi was not known to mince words and let his frustration on Azhar at the end of the day for having gone against instructions. Similar to Kulkarni this week, Bedi had held that the decision to bowl tilted the match in England’s favour (England won the match at the toss!!!). And similar to Sai Kishore's fourth innings turner argument, Azhar justified that there was swing on offer on that first morning and had that catch been held, the match may have taken a different course on day 1.

In the Ranji Semi Final, Kulkarni’s views were endorsed with TN collapsing on day one. However, what almost the entire journalist fraternity has failed to focus on over the last 36 hours is the fact that TN bounced back on the 2nd morning and had Bombay on the brink at 100/7. Had they got the tailenders cheap, it is likely they would have been on even terms after the first innings and then Sai’s decision to  bat so as to leverage the advantage of bowling fourth may well have come true. TN lost the match on that 2nd afternoon when they allowed the tail to score over 250runs. 

Historical matches of TN bowlers letting it slip

Here too, it’s not the first time.  Multiple occasions, in the 1980s, TN let go golden opportunities to beat Delhi and Bombay in the knock out encounters when they allowed the a rather unfancied lower order to flourish after TN had got through the top order of the opposition. 

The Famous LS match

In that famous Quarter Final at Chepauk in Feb 82, where Vidya Mandir school boy LS got 7 wickets in the 2nd innings (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/04/l-sivaramakrishnan.html), TN had had Delhi on the brink at 290/7 in the first innings. But Surinder Khanna engineered a recovery to take the team past 400.  

All rounder Madan Lal did it then like Shardul this week

Two years later, against the same team and at the same venue, TN had got half the Delhi team out for just over 200 chasing TN’s 350+ score but Madan Lal, similar to Shardul Thakur, led a big recovery scoring a century that took Delhi past the 450mark. 

BS Sandhu- Another Bombay all arounder, another late order recovery

The next year, history repeated itself again in the semi final at Bombay. Current state selector, S Srinivasan, was part of that TN team (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/08/s-srinivasan-tn-bombay-ranji-svpb-spic.html). He had declared with confidence on the eve of the match that TN would well inn this match. Chasing TN’s 400+ first innings score in March 1985, (TN collapsed after V Shiv and CS Suresh Kumar - https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/07/cs-suresh-kumar-india-schools-tn-opener.html) - had put together a big opening stand), Bombay had lost half its side for 300 but Balwinder Singh Sandhu, another fast bowling allrounder most famously known for that big down the slope inswinger that got Gordon Greenidge in the 1983 World Cup final, forged a late order recovery to take Bombay past 500. That match turned out to be the last for Srinivasan's SVPB team mate NP Madhavan, who scored a century in his last innings.

Back then in the 1980s, Venkat and Co did not have any answers to the opposition lower order in the Ranji knock out games. And this week, Sai and Kulkarni did not have one. 

Both of the Captain and the Coach will have to keep the argument of the toss for another day for TN did not lose the match at 9am on Day 1.

(At the time of writing this story, Vidharbha had just fashioned a comeback win after being bowled out for 170 in the first innings in the other semi final!!!)