The collapse gathered pace thereafter as Sai ran through the lower order. He bowled Lakshya Raichandani around his legs before sending Saurabh Rawat and Aditya Rawat back to the pavilion with successive deliveries to complete his hat-trick. He became only the eighth Tamil Nadu bowler to achieve the feat in the Ranji Trophy. — DC Image

CHENNAI: Left-arm spinner and skipper R. Sai Kishore claimed six wickets, including a hat-trick, and finished with match figures of 10 for 74 as Tamil Nadu registered a dominant innings-and-66-run victory over Uttarakhand in a Group D Ranji Trophy match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday. TN wrapped up the contest inside three days.

Having conceded the first-innings lead against Rajasthan in their season opener, Tamil Nadu desperately needed a strong response. With rain threatening to disrupt their first home fixture, the hosts delivered the kind of performance they had been looking for, working well as a unit to collect seven points, including a bonus point for the innings win.

Uttarakhand, bowled out for 134 in their first innings, managed only 113 in their second essay. Tamil Nadu’s left-arm spin duo of Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram accounted for all 10 wickets in the second innings, with Ajith returning figures of four for 33.

Resuming the third day at nine for one, Uttarakhand needed 180 runs to make Tamil Nadu bat again, but the visitors had little room for error.

Ajith struck twice, removing both overnight batters, Dega Nischal and skipper Kunal Chandela, before Sai dismissed J. Suchith and Avneesh Sudha. Uttarakhand were left struggling at 91 for five at lunch.

The collapse gathered pace thereafter as Sai ran through the lower order. He bowled Lakshya Raichandani around his legs before sending Saurabh Rawat and Aditya Rawat back to the pavilion with successive deliveries to complete his hat-trick. He became only the eighth Tamil Nadu bowler to achieve the feat in the Ranji Trophy.

“I didn’t bowl to take a hat-trick. I was just doing my job. I think when I am honest with myself and work hard, God gives me these things. I already have a hat-trick in T20 cricket, so I am very happy to have one in first-class cricket as well. My coach, Ramkumar, had a hat-trick for Tamil Nadu. He would always tell me, ‘You still don’t have a hat-trick.’ Now, I think we are even,” said Sai Kishore.

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