opponents Tamil Nadu – Tamil Nadu captain R. Sai Kishore admitted that the team has regressed from the progress made over the years after failing to qualify for the knockouts in any of the three domestic competitions this season. Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy campaign ended on Sunday after a draw against Baroda, with the team finishing sixth out of eight teams in the elite Group A.

“The only way you can qualify for the knockouts is by taking 20 wickets. At least in all our home games, we have to do that, but we have failed to do that even once this season.

We have to fix that,” Sai Kishore said. The left-arm spinner also took responsibility for his performance and admitted that he was not at his best this season after returning from a finger injury.

“I played six Ranji matches, but it was only in the middle of the Vijay Hazare Trophy that I got my rhythm back. The way I bowled in this game, I had not been able to do that before. ” Asked how the team and players can improve to better prepare for such challenges, Sai Kishore stressed the importance of seizing the moment.

“We have to handle the pressure in difficult situations. Even if we may not win those moments, at least we should not lose the plot, hang in there and then take the opportunity when we get it. We have to try to simulate those situations during training.

” On the team’s declining status in white-ball cricket, Sai Kishore said, “We have to play fearless cricket, especially as batsmen. Other teams have taken the game to the next level, but we have not been able to step up yet.

“.