Left-arm spin twins R Sai Kishore and S Ajith Ram did the heavy lifting for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy group stage, with a combined haul of 74 wickets. They continued their form in the quarterfinal match against Saurashtra, picking up eight wickets on the opening day. Tamil Nadu bundled out Saurashtra for just 183. In response, Tamil Nadu were 23-1 at the close of play.