Déjà vu for Vijay Shankar as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka serve up another thrilling finish

Vijay isn’t too big on reverse sweeps, but he was ready to do something different on a turning track. After Tamil Nadu passed 300, there was a sense of panic in the opposition camp, with captain Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey and Devdutt Padikkal getting together for a mid-pitch conference.Agarwal then posted nine men on the boundary, including two at deep third and two at deep square leg. After Vijay and Indrajith had countered Karnataka’s spinners, the fast bowlers kept digging the ball into the pitch and hiding it away from the reach of the batters.Suddenly, a Ranji game had turned into a one-on-one shootout. After Indrajith was run-out for 98 off 194 balls by V Kaverappa off his own bowling, it was down to Vijay vs Vyshak Vijaykumar. Tamil Nadu needed 29 off the remaining 18 balls of the game, with the crowd right behind Vijay. Former India wicketkeeper and TN captain Dinesh Karthik was also in attendance at Chepauk towards the finish.Having packed the square boundaries on both sides, Vyshak’s plan was simple: keep it short, and take it away from the swinging arc of Vijay. Vyshak banged the ball into a hard length and darted it wide — it probably finished wider than a set of stumps outside off. Vijay managed to somehow reach the ball, but could only swipe it to Agarwal at the long-on boundary.Dismissed for 60 off 107, he was on his haunches once again before dragging himself off the field. In the next over, rookie S Lokeshwar holed out to long-off and Tamil Nadu ended up with a draw.Vijay Shankar obliged the fans at Chepauk with a selfie on the third day•Deivarayan Muthu/ESPNcricinfoIt was déjà vu for Vijay and Tamil Nadu once again. In the 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final in Surat, Vijay had played a sparkling cameo, but he fell at the final hurdle as Karnataka won by one run. With four needed from two balls in that game, Vijay was run-out while returning for a second, and it’s something that still haunts him.»I really wanted to cross the line today because four years ago in that T20… even in that innings I was there. I got the team very close but couldn’t cross the line,» Vijay said after stumps on Monday. «Today again, we came closer to it, and I think it’s one of the finest chases that you can see. Fourth-day wicket, over 350 to chase, and I think it was a fantastic effort.»You have to go all out for the team. Having come so close, you don’t want to just play it off. When I was there, I wanted to back myself to hit those couple of sixes, but it was not an easy wicket to get those sixes… Even you would have thought the match would get over by lunch or so .»Despite not securing an outright win in Chennai, Tamil Nadu are still in contention for qualifying for the Ranji Trophy knockouts. They still have one league fixture to go. «When we play well as a team and when we fight against all the odds — the wicket and everything — it gives good confidence for the team to keep moving forward and that’s a lovely thing to have amongst the group,» Vijay said.Indrajith, too, was upbeat about Tamil Nadu’s chances, and toasted the gripping finish. «The atmosphere was brilliant. First of all, to play a Ranji game at Chepauk is a special feeling,» he said. «When I made my Ranji debut in 2013-14, I saw crowds like these, but after a very long time I’m happy that people came to support both teams.»When I was batting, there was good support for Karnataka also. Usually, Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka is a high-octane game, and we didn’t expect it to go this close. When I was inside, I thought I can cross the line and it would have been a good feeling, but we will take it (the draw) any day.»Indrajith and the rest of the Tamil Nadu players then chilled with Karthik in front of the Madras Cricket Club as the sun set in Chennai. Usually, Chepauk is a cauldron of emotion in March, April and May, but February 12 was fun too.