Ranji Trophy: TN’s Ajith Ram relishes challenge of bowling to Pujara

Tamil Nadu after their convincing nine-wicket win over Punjab are gearing up to take on Saurashtra in the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy to be played at Coimbatore from Friday.

After several disappointing seasons, Tamil Nadu finally reached the knock-out stage of the Ranji Trophy topping the group with four wins from seven outings.

One of the key players who helped Tamil Nadu reach the last-eight stage is its spinner S Ajith Ram, who has picked up 36 wickets so far in this tournament.

”It feels good, definitely very excited to play quarterfinals. We played as a team and have managed to reach the knock-outs. We are all in a good frame of mind,” said Ajith Ram.

Ajith Ram has been the perfect foil for Sai Kishore. In the company of his senior counterpart and skipper, Ajith has blossomed as a bowler. ”As I said earlier the team environment is very good. I am happy to contribute to the team’s cause. And when you know that your effort has also helped the team progress to the next stage, it gives you a lot of satisfaction and propels you to do more for the team,” said Ajith Ram.

Saurashtra will look to Cheteshwar Pujara to come up with a big score as he is familiar with the Tamil Nadu attack having played in the TNCA First Division league in Chennai in the recent past.