Tamil Nadu Crushes Railways in Innings Victory
In a stunning display of dominance, Tamil Nadu annihilated Railways by an innings and 25 runs in a Ranji Trophy Group-D encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday. The victory was secured in a mere 20 minutes on the fourth day, as Tamil Nadu’s bowlers wreaked havoc on the Railways batting lineup.
R. Sonu Yadav and S. Ajith Ram were the architects of the demolition, claiming four wickets each. Sonu’s strategy of bowling straight to the stumps proved effective, while Ajith Ram’s left-arm spin bamboozled the Railways batters.
The collapse began with Mohammad Saif’s dismissal, as Shahrukh Khan dove low to his right and snared a half-chance. Shivam Chaudhary’s edge was safely taken by Shahrukh, who had to run almost 20 yards to complete the catch.
Sonu then sent Yuvraj Singh and Kunal Yadav packing in quick succession, leaving Railways reeling at 184 all out. The innings victory earned Tamil Nadu seven points.
“To get five wickets in 3.4 overs is not at all easy,” said Sonu. “We took those and happy that that miracle happened.”
Ajith Ram added, “Our goal was to restrict them and make sure we had to chase less than a 100. But once we got the first wicket, everything went down so quickly.”
Tamil Nadu captain N. Jagadeesan was delighted with the crucial win. “These are things that just happen only once in a while and credit to the way Sonu and Ajith Ram bowled.”
