India veteran Dinesh Karthik slams Tamil Nadu coach for criticising skipper after semis loss in Ranji Trophy
Dinesh Karthik has been in the form of his life in IPL 2022. | Photo - IPL |
India batter Dinesh Karthik has called out Ranji Trophy (India's premier first-class tournament) side Tamil Nadu's coach Sulakshan Kulkarni for blaming skipper R Sai Kishore for the loss in the semi-final vs Mumbai. Notably, Tamil Nadu lost to Mumbai by an innings and 70 runs on Monday (March 4) as the latter made it to the Ranji Trophy final for the 48th time.
After the loss, the Tamil Nadu coach said that they lost the match on day 1 (March 2) of the game at the toss, indicating the decision taken by skipper Sai Kishore to bat first.
Reacting to the coach's statement, Karthik wrote on his official handle X: “This is so disappointing from the coach ..instead of backing the captain who has brought the team to the semis after 7 years and thinking it’s a start for good things to happen, the coach has absolutely thrown his captain and team under the bus.”
Coach Kulkarni also said that he had given all the inputs to skipper Sai Kishore “but I can only lead a horse to water, can’t make it drink. I even explained to them Mumbai’s mindset."
The decision to bat first on a greenish pitch in Mumbai did prove costly as Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 146 in their first innings. In reply, Sai Kishore's five-wicket haul had Mumbai on the ropes before India international Shardul Thakur scored his maiden first-class century to take his side ahead.
Mumbai eventually posted 378 runs in their first innings, taking a lead of 232 runs in the first innings. It proved too much for Tamil Nadu eventually as they collapsed again and were bowled out for 162 runs and lost the game inside three days.
Tamil Nadu, however, can still hold their head high after making it to the first knockout round since the 2016/17 season.
