Ranji Trophy quarter-finals: Sai Kishore claims ninth First-Class fifer
Tamil Nadu captain Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore produced a great bowling performance against Saurashtra on Day 1 of their 2024 Ranji Trophy quarter-final encounter. Sai Kishore finished with figures of 5/66, registering his ninth five-wicket haul in First-Class cricket. This is also his second fifer of the ongoing season. Eventually, Tamil Nadu restricted Saurashtra to only 183 runs in the first innings.
Sai Kishore delivers a sensational spell
Sai Kishore introduced himself early on in the innings and made an instant impact by removing the in-form Sheldon Jackson. He later returned to pick up the wickets of Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Chirag Jani in his two consecutive overs to put the defending champions in trouble. The spinner cleaned up the tail by dismissing Jaydev Unadkat and Yuvrajsinh Dodiya to complete his fifer.
Highest wicket-taker in 2024 Ranji Trophy campaign
Sai Kishore has been a standout player for Tamil Nadu this season. The slow left-arm spinner is currently the highest wicket-taker in the 2024 Ranji Trophy campaign with 43 wickets from 13 innings at an average of 19.9. He has claimed five four-wicket hauls along with two fifers. With this fifer, he has surpassed Gaurav Yadav and Hitesh Walunj's tally of 41 wickets.
Tamil Nadu return to Ranji Trophy knockouts after six seasons
Sai Kishore led Tamil Nadu back into the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals for the first time in six seasons. They last reached the knockout stage of the competition in the 2016-17 season. Tamil Nadu reached the semi-finals of the competition that season before they were defeated by Mumbai. The left-arm spinner deserves a lot of credit for marshaling his troops brilliantly.
A look at his exceptional FC numbers
Playing his 38th First-Class match, Sai Kishore raced to 156 wickets at an average below 26. As mentioned, he has claimed his ninth five-wicket haul in red-ball cricket. He has been a mainstay for Tamil Nadu in all three formats since making his FC debut in 2017. The 27-year-old has also compiled more than 600 runs in this format with two fifties.
How has the match progressed?
Batting first, Saurashtra lost Kevin Jivrajani early on before Jackson and Harvik Desai added 47 runs. Desai continued his onslaught by stitching up a 54-run partnership with Arpit Vasavada. Apart from Desai's fifty (83) and Prerak Mankad's 35*, none of the Saurashtra batters stepped up as they were bundled out for 183. In reply, Tamil Nadu were 23/1 at stumps on Day 1.