Tamil Nadu has not come close to qualifying for the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy since the 2016-17 season when it finished as the semifinalist.
For the first time since that year, the team now has a realistic chance of making it to the next stage when it takes on a strong Jharkhand side in the final league match of the Elite Group H at the Nehru Stadium on Thursday.
On an even keel
Both teams are tied on six points, one behind group leader Chhattisgarh, and will be vying to come out on top and give themselves a chance to move ahead into the knockouts.
However, things are not entirely in TN’s hands as even an outright win with a bonus point won’t be enough for either side if Chhattisgarh manages to beat Delhi outright.
TN has been consistent in the two matches so far, by chasing a big first-innings total against Delhi to secure the lead and then was just two wickets away from getting a big win against Chhattisgarh.
The team’s batting unit seems settled with most batters getting runs so far, and an unchanged playing XI is likely.
Though the bowling department has managed to dismiss the rival team’s top-order cheaply in both the matches, it has struggled to dismiss the lower order quickly and thus let the opposition off the hook.
Sensational win
Jharkhand, meanwhile, produced a sensational victory against Delhi in the final hours of the match.
The team will pose a strong test to TN as it has a very good bowling attack led by left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and a good pace attack with the likes of Ashish Kumar and Sushant Mishra.
In the match against Delhi, the team was on the backfoot till the last session as the latter was cruising towards the target of 335. But Jharkhand somehow managed to hold its nerve with Nadeem chipping in with crucial wickets to help the team secure a 15-run win.
After its batters struggled in the match against Chhattisgarh, three of them made centuries against Delhi which should give the team confidence going into this match. Skipper Saurabh Tiwary, who missed the game against Delhi, is likely to lead the side again which should give stability to its batting order.
