Indrajith and Andre put on 50 for the fourth wicket to put the chase back on track.
| Photo Credit: R. RAGU
“I’m happy about it, but not satisfied”. These were Andre Siddarth’s exact words when asked to sum up his rusty, yet match-winning innings against Railways on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old endured a shaky start before grinding out an unbeaten 56 off 128 balls in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group D fixture.
“I thought it was a wake-up call when Bhargav Merai dropped my catch. And luckily, I was batting with Indranna [B. Indrajith]. He’s the senior-most batter in the team. I felt it was much easier because he was there,” Andre said after the victory on the third day at the MAC Stadium.
On the instructions he got when he found it tough at the crease, Andre said: “At first, I wanted to take on the bowling because the wicket was tricky. But after some time, Indrajith and (coach) Yo Mahesh sir told me to bat normally and not play reckless shots.”
Andre, however, was determined to be the man hitting the winning runs. “I wanted to stay till the end. I knew I could have won the game even if we had lost, hypothetically, nine wickets,” he added.
Toufik Mondal, whose eight-wicket match-haul went in vain, touched upon Railways’ missed opportunity.
“We discussed that even 120 was plenty on this surface. Had we held on to that catch, the outcome of the match could have been different. Both Raj Choudhary bhaiya and I were bowling well, and that drop probably turned the game”.
Published – October 28, 2026 06:16 pm IST
