Vijay Hazare Trophy: TN coach Kulkarni terms quarterfinal against Mumbai as ‘contest between red-ball and white-ball legacy’

Tamil Nadu head coach Sulakshan Kulkarni was all reward for his bowling unit after the crew certified for the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts following a complete win towards Nagaland in its final league sport.

“It was heartening to see the way the bowlers dominated right through the league stage. I am sure the same trend will persist in Rajkot,” Kulkarni informed Sportstar on the Brabourne stadium on Tuesday.

While the Tamil Nadu bowling unit has been on track, the top-four batters failed to fireside constantly in bowler-friendly situations in Mumbai over the past fortnight. While Kulkarni admitted he was “a bit disappointed with the batting effort”, he was assured the batters will bounce again in Rajkot subsequent week.

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“The main thing while playing in Mumbai is to see off the first 10-15 overs. Most of our top-order got out in the first 20 overs. We have almost a dozen IPL (Indian Premier League) cricketers and they should play to their potential,” Kulkarni stated.

“They should just stay at the crease for a while and then they can dominate. I am confident they will fire in the knockouts.”

Up subsequent for Tamil Nadu might be Ranji Trophy powerhouse Mumbai within the quarterfinal, Kulkarni’s alma mater. The one-day big might be with out opener S. Sai Sudharsan and promising batter Pradosh Ranjan Paul, who might be in South Africa on India and India An obligation, respectively.

“We will definitely miss these two batters but I am sure we have enough bench-strength to help,” Kulkarni stated.

“It will be a contest between red-ball and white-ball legacy. Mumbai has won 41 Ranji Trophy titles whereas Tamil Nadu has won multiple white-ball titles, that too in the recent past. I am fortunate to have been able to coach both the teams.”