Ranji Trophy: Rookie left-arm spinner S Ajith Ram helps Tamil Nadu script innings win over Railways
It is tough time to be a left-arm spinner in Tamil Nadu right now. At any point in time, there are at least three others vying for a spot with skipper R Sai Kishore being the No 1. When S Ajith Ram made his debut at the SNR College grounds a year back, eyebrows were raised as M Siddarth – another left-arm spinner – was already in the mix. The start wasn’t impressive, but in the three matches he has bowled since then, Ajith has two five-wicket hauls and on Sunday, nearly got another as his 4/40 gave Tamil Nadu an innings-and-129-run win over Railways which keeps them in the race for knockout qualification.
On a day at the SNR College grounds in Coimbatore where 18 wickets fell, Ajith picked six across both innings, playing the ideal second-fiddle to Kishore. But it was yet another innings where he showed why he is bankable in the red-ball format, following up after his impressive outings last season and in the Buchi Babu tournament, where he picked 9/72 against Chhattisgarh.
Though he has been part of the Tamil Nadu Premier League set-up for a while, Ajith is still old-fashioned when it comes to speed and line. Not as tall as his skipper, Ajith’s biggest strength has been his consistency in terms of line and length, with his variations in speed ably supporting it. With a smooth, repeatable action, he mostly operates on a stump-to-stump line, slipping in the odd straighter ones that have been hard to pick. It is a reason why 13 of his 25 wickets have either been bowled or LBW.
On turning tracks like the one that Tamil Nadu played on in Coimbatore, it makes Ajith all the more lethal. “When you can bowl consistently on a particular length, there is no need to do anything different. When you do that, you will be in the game even on unresponsive pitches. When you don’t give anything in the batsman’s arc and if you can build pressure with dot balls, he is bound to commit an error,” Ajith explains his modus operandi.
That Ajith also got opportunities to play a lot of red-ball cricket, especially at the First Division and University level, without much exposure to the white ball in the Tamil Nadu set-up seems to have been a blessing in disguise. “What I’ve noticed is this (consistency) has also helped me to do well in white-ball cricket. It is where I also learnt to vary the pace and not be predictable as well. The key thing is patience. You don’t need to explore a lot for the sake of it. Once you assess the pitch, you will figure out what works,” he says.
In the time he spent waiting for a Tamil Nadu call-up, Ajith attained his MBA degree, which also helped him play a bit of cricket with some familiar faces at the university level. “Obviously, getting a Ranji cap is a dream. But in the time I wasn’t ready for it, I used university cricket to help improve my game. It was the main reason why I enrolled for an MBA degree because it will allow me to play extra games. And from the time I switched to bowling spin, I’ve always been fascinated with this art,” Ajith adds.
With Sai Kishore operating from the other end and tightening the screws, the Railways batting unit had a mighty task, more so after Tamil Nadu made 489 in the first essay, courtesy a double century from N Jagadeesan. With Railways folding for 246 in the first innings, Tamil Nadu enforced the follow-on, from where Sai Kishore and Ajith took over.
First up, Ajith dismissed Mohammad Saif and then removed Railways skipper Upendra Yadav for the second time in the day as Tamil Nadu rounded off a comprehensive win with a day to spare. Next up, they face Chandigarh at the same venue.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu: 489 beat Railways: 246 & 114 (Pratham Singh 29; Ajith Ram 4/40, R Sai Kishore 4/43) by an innings and 129 runs.
