Andhra Pradesh seal victory over Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy, Rasheed’s unbeaten 87 the highlight

Ravichandran Ashwin urged Tamil Nadu selectors to focus on ‘role-specific’ selections after their four-wicket loss to Andhra Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy. Despite solid performances from individual players, Tamil Nadu struggled with bat and are yet to win a match this season

New Delhi: Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin urged Tamil Nadu selectors to pick a ‘role-specific’ squad following their four-wicket loss to Andhra Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy Group A clash on Monday.

“Tamil Nadu go down to Andhra, Shaikh Rasheed’s first innings knock definitely made the difference. It’s been a tough season so far for TN, hope the white-ball leg brings some relief,” Ashwin wrote on X.

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“We have some good young talent and hope the selections can be role-specific, rather than being volume-specific.”

Tamil Nadu batters failed miserably in both innings and could only manage totals of 182 & 195 in Visakhapatnam.

Shaikh Rasheed’s unbeaten 87 for Andhra Pradesh in the first innings helped them post 177 after once reeling at 5-63.

For Tamil Nadu, Sandeep Warrier bagged a four-wicket haul, while Trilok Nag, Sonu Yadav, and Sai Kishore picked two wickets each.

However, Balasubramaniam Sachin (51) and C. Andre Siddarth (33) showed some resistance for Tamil Nadu in the second innings but could only stretch the total to 195.

For Andhra Pradesh, Saurabh Kumar returned with figures of 4-46, while Prithvi Raj scalped two wickets.

Chasing the target of 201, opener Abhishek Reddy scored 70, while Karan Shinde contributed with 51 as Andhra Pradesh got over the line in 41.2 overs. With the win, Andhra Pradesh climbed to third spot with nine points from three games. They will face Jharkhand next in Jamshedpur from November 16.

Tamil Nadu will next take on Uttar Pradesh in Coimbatore from November 16. Tamil Nadu are placed sixth in Group A with four points from three games and are yet to win a match this season.

On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh are placed fifth with seven points from three games.