It was the day when pacer Nachiket Bute and Aman Mukade, while bringing Vidarbha back into the game, brought the mirror back to Tamil Nadu. Having struck late on the first day with the second new ball to remove centurion Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Bute had already provided the opening Vidarbha sought. On the second day of the Ranji Trophy match on Sunday, the 26-year-old took the new ball in the absence of Darshan Nalkande and Yash Thakur, and drilled more holes in the opening he created – dropping Shah Rukh Khan, Baba Indrajith and Mohammed Ali, in a 9-4-22-3 formation. Tamil Nadu lost their last seven wickets for 39 runs to endure another collapse – their third in a row in Coimbatore in as many innings. With only 291 bowlers to defend on the field that were there, the 24-year-old Makhadi, who scored 183 and 176 in the first two matches, set the course with 80 runs at the top as the defending champions ended the second day on 211/2, declaring their determination to bat long and push to win the innings.
Against a Vidarbha side that won 8 out of 10 matches en route to their third Ranji title last season, Tamil Nadu’s resolve was always about to be tested and their worst fears came true. From the moment they received the new ball, Vidarbha created chances led by Butt single-handedly. With TN batsmen being hesitant against the closing ball, Bute focused on targeting the stumps. Shahrukh, unable to trust his defence, got down and hit Butt for a huge six. But the next time, his defense was compromised as he stayed back to where he should have been playing forward. In his next over, Indrajith, hit a 96, one with an inside edge angled in and two overs later, he played on the wrong line to see the off-stump shake to hand the bowler his second five-wicket haul of the season.
When TN came looking for wickets, Mokhade punished them intentionally. The 24-year-old was part of the starting eleven last season, but was in and out, playing just four games. He was told before the season that he would get a lot of chances this season. He started with 183 against Nagaland and followed it up with 176 against Jharkhand and during his stay on Sunday, he looked confident that he would make three successive centuries, before passing a ball to the short-leg fielder on 80.
“The feeling is very magical for me because it was three important strikes,” Makhadi said. Mokhade’s career arc is something that TN will have to take into consideration. One of Vidarbha’s strongest features is the age group system, which has served as an excellent feeder system for the first team, and played a huge role in their success. Makhadi is one of the products of this system. He was part of the U16 team that won their first title. He was part of the team that won the Under-19 title before repeating it in the Under-25s. Last season the same winning habit continued in Ranji Trophy.
“I have been part of this team for three or four years. The good thing that our management and team do is that they give opportunities to promising players who are performing well in their age groups. Even if they are not part of the team, they keep them there and tell them that we are looking up to you. You get an opportunity when there is an opportunity. So, we are always ready. Being with the team at this age gives you a lot of confidence,” says Makhadi.
Having made his debut in the 2022-23 season on the back of strong performances at Under-25 levels, he has been brought into the system to understand how the senior playing environment works. If not Ranji, he was busy playing for the CK Nayudu Trophy and last season, despite being left out of the playing XI, they made him stay with the team to learn from the likes of Dhruv Shorey and Yash Rathod. “We have a small circle. We have a small number of players, but we have quality players. We are all Under-19 and Under-23 training together. We are also created to be part of the first team, and that gives us immense confidence. I came from the Under-14 levels and the facilities we got at that time were similar to the Ranji team. So, the rule is very fixed there. We have a habit of winning tournaments. Somehow, we have got that,” he said.
For a 24-year-old who grew up in the T20 era, Makhadi looked technically sound, a testament to the strong base he mentioned. Against pacers and spinners, he rarely allowed the bat to hang around, playing as close to the body as possible, showing an intent to dominate even in defence. The fact that every centurion has been a patriarch for hundreds of years is also due to the influence of the elders in the dressing room. “I learned a lot from Yash bhai, when I saw him from the age groups, scoring those big runs, I wanted to do the same. I saw how much hunger he has and the attitude with which he approaches matches. Even others like Dhruv bhai do the same too and that energy is contagious. They talk about getting 1,000 runs, 1,200 runs in the dressing room. When you hear that, it plants those thoughts in your head as well,” he said.
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In essence, this is the kind of conversation that has been missing in Tamil Nadu.
Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 291 (Baba Indrajith 96; Nachiket Bout 5/65; Parth Rekhade 3/58) vs Vidarbha 211/2 (Dhruv Shorey 80, Aman Mukade 80)
(Tags for translation) Ranji Trophy
