Gurjapneet Singh, who recently played for India-A, joined the Tamil Nadu team only on the eve of the Ranji Trophy match against Uttarakhand and didn’t train on Saturday.

However, the left-arm pacer seamlessly shifted to red-ball cricket and hit his mark from the very first over, taking three wickets in his opening spell to help TN seize the initiative on day one. “I was just trying to keep it normal and using the angles according to the pitch. I was understanding the batters… how they were reacting,” said Gurjapneet.

The 27-year-old relished bowling in favourable conditions and got the ball to move both ways while constantly shifting from over to around the wicket. “It is just my instincts. I watch the batter’s foot movement and how he reacts. I then try to change it a bit, and it gave positive results.”

Gurjapneet was recently with the National team as a net bowler, and felt bowling to top batters helped. “The thing is, you will get confidence when you bowl to good batters like Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli. When you then come to the Ranji Trophy, you will get a different kind of confidence,” he added.

When asked about doing well in the India-A and Emerging Tours limited-overs opportunities, Gurjapneet stressed that he won’t be satisfied unless he dons the India cap. “That’s the main job, and that box is still empty. I have to tick that,” he said.

Sachin Baby had a mixed feeling at the end of play.

While he was happy for hitting his 16th First Class century, all of which have come in the Ranji Trophy, the former Kerala captain was disappointed with the way he got out against Odisha at the fag end of the day. Sachin got a faint edge and was caught brilliantly down the leg side by wicketkeeper Sandeep Dhuper.

“It is the third time I have been dismissed in the same manner this season. I could have left the ball, but I was tempted to play it and got a tickle. But I am happy to have scored my 16th century,” said the 37-year-old.

“The conditions were challenging when I came in. The Odisha bowlers did pretty well and didn’t give any loose balls. But I knew the pitch would ease out after the first session, so I was patient and played the ball on merit. The surface is a bit uneven at one end and strokeplay is not easy on it.’’

Sachin also praised Mohammed Azharuddeen, who returned to form with a patient unbeaten knock of 72, and said the 141-run sixth-wicket stand was crucial for shifting the momentum in favour of Kerala.

Format, opposition, conditions — nothing seems to matter to R. Smaran in his current vein of form. The Karnataka batter continued his prolific run with a career-best 67 (41b, 7×4, 2×6) — his second T20 fifty — to set up a successful chase of 198 against Uttarakhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament here on Wednesday. Karnataka got home with five wickets to spare.

Smaran later reflected that coming into the tournament on the back of a heavy run-scoring Ranji season helps, allowing him to “carry over the confidence” and have a positive start to the campaign.

The 22-year-old explained that his role in the T20 setup is “very simple” — “to take the game deep and finish things off.”

Karnataka’s Smaran in action during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy cricket match against Uttarakhand at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, Gujarat on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI

A compact, clean-hitting batter, Smaran is especially strong against spin, using his long levers to access both sides of the wicket. He displayed it against leg-spinner Himanshu Bish, launching two towering sixes down the ground. There were no funky strokes in his knock — just pure, orthodox ball-striking.

“You need to get your basics right in order to get those big hits. But I think I’m not a guy who can straight away go in and get those big hits. That is something I’m trying to work on — to get going from ball one,” he said.

He added that he’s been working on playing the reverse sweep. “Both point and short third will be in (inside the circle) for the spinners. And I think if you get that shot right, it straightaway puts pressure on the bowler.”