Ranji Trophy 2025-26 round 3 preview: Misfiring Tamil Nadu hopes for turn in form against Vidarbha
A misfiring Tamil Nadu (TN) needs to pull up its socks to get its Ranji Trophy campaign back on track when it takes on reigning champion Vidarbha in the third round Group A match starting from Saturday at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground.
The southern side has tripped up in the first two games, going down by an innings to Jharkhand in the opening fixture at this venue and then salvaging just three points after posting 512 for three (decl.) against Nagaland in Bengaluru.
In both encounters, its bowlers were guilty of letting the opponents off the hook. TN had Jharkhand on the mat at 157 for six but eventually conceded 419. Similarly, Nagaland was tottering at 160 for five but managed to get 446 and came within 67 runs of taking the first-innings lead.
With in-form left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh not available, pace spearhead Sandeep Warrier, who has managed just two wickets so far, and skipper R. Sai Kishore have to step up.
On the batting front, though Pradosh Ranjan Paul and R. Vimal Khumar scored an unbeaten 201 and 189, respectively, in the previous game, sterner tests await against the sharper Vidarbha attack.
In contrast, the visitor has kick-started its title defence strongly, breezing past Nagaland with a convincing innings victory and securing the first-innings lead against Jharkhand.
These two sides last met in the quarterfinal earlier this year in Nagpur, where Vidarbha’s pacers blew away the TN top-order in both innings to set up a thumping 198-run win.
This contest will once again boil down to how well the home team’s batters tackle Vidarbha’s disciplined bowling line-up, especially when facing the new ball. TN can ill-afford another false step, and a good outing against one of the best teams in domestic cricket could be the booster shot the host desperately requires.
Published on Oct 31, 2025
