Debutant Pradosh Ranjan Paul, all of 18, and a little over five-feet tall, showed why he is rated so highly by his peers in the Tamil Nadu Ranji team after standing tall with a gritty knock of 78 against Delhi on the second day of the Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday.
Shivam Sharma
Chennai:
The diminutive southpaw said he was disappointed at missing out on a big score after seeing off the initial difficult phase. “I would say I missed out on a 150. This being my debut, I was slightly nervous but after getting off the mark, I was able to bat in a relaxed manner,” said the lad from Tirupur.
Asked whether he had any difficulty facing the pace duo of Navdeep Saini and Subodh Bhati soon after he arrived at the crease, Pradosh explained, “We are used to facing bowlers in the First Division League who bowl quicker than what I faced on Tuesday. My plan was to wait for the loose ball. In the U-19 category, we get loose deliveries every three or four overs. At this level, we will have to be mentally stronger and wait for the opportunity.”
On whether he received any pep talk from seniors such as Abhinav, Pradosh replied that he was just told to enjoy the occasion. “Spending time with Abhinav in the middle in my first match was great. Likewise, Shahrukh told me to back my instincts and play my normal game. He didn’t stop me from playing my shots,” added Pradosh.
For the visiting team, off-spinner Shivam Sharma did well with the ball scalping four wickets, including the wicket of centurion Abhinav, but failed with the bat managing only seven. “The wicket is still good for batting. Our plan will be to bat long and big. The batsmen who are set will find it easy and the onus will be on them to make that count. Since we were playing without our regular opener, my coach promoted me up the order. I used to open in U-19, but this is the first time I have opened in a first-class match,” shared the 25-year-old.
Walking out at number six after the dismissal of Vijay Shankar, Pradosh was involved in two valuable partnerships with Abhinav Mukund and later M Shahrukh Khan. His maiden first-class innings also had the rub of the green going his way when he was out lbw on 50 before the decision was overturned as the bowler had overstepped.
The diminutive southpaw said he was disappointed at missing out on a big score after seeing off the initial difficult phase. “I would say I missed out on a 150. This being my debut, I was slightly nervous but after getting off the mark, I was able to bat in a relaxed manner,” said the lad from Tirupur.
Asked whether he had any difficulty facing the pace duo of Navdeep Saini and Subodh Bhati soon after he arrived at the crease, Pradosh explained, “We are used to facing bowlers in the First Division League who bowl quicker than what I faced on Tuesday. My plan was to wait for the loose ball. In the U-19 category, we get loose deliveries every three or four overs. At this level, we will have to be mentally stronger and wait for the opportunity.”
On whether he received any pep talk from seniors such as Abhinav, Pradosh replied that he was just told to enjoy the occasion. “Spending time with Abhinav in the middle in my first match was great. Likewise, Shahrukh told me to back my instincts and play my normal game. He didn’t stop me from playing my shots,” added Pradosh.
For the visiting team, off-spinner Shivam Sharma did well with the ball scalping four wickets, including the wicket of centurion Abhinav, but failed with the bat managing only seven. “The wicket is still good for batting. Our plan will be to bat long and big. The batsmen who are set will find it easy and the onus will be on them to make that count. Since we were playing without our regular opener, my coach promoted me up the order. I used to open in U-19, but this is the first time I have opened in a first-class match,” shared the 25-year-old.