According to Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni, the team lost the Ranji Trophy semi-final at 9 AM on day one

Tamil Nadu's campaign ended in semi-final heartbreak. Coach Sulakshan Kulkarni remarked that his team lost the match right at the toss on the opening day.

Kulkarni made it clear that the captain, R Sai Kishore, made the call despite conventional wisdom and his knowledge of conditions having played and coached for Mumbai. Kulkarni suggested that they should have bowled first.

Kulkarni said after Tamil Nadu was handed an innings defeat by Mumbai inside three days at the Bandra Kurla Complex Ground:

"I always speak straightforward - we lost the match at 9 o'clock on day one. The moment I saw the wicket I exactly knew what we were going to get."

Dinesh Karthik, the Indian wicketkeeper, described Kulkarni's comments as 'wrong' and 'disappointing'. Former TN captain Hemang Badani felt that Kulkarni had 'thrown Sai Kishore under the bus' with his comments following their defeat.

Sai Kishore's decision to bat first backfired spectacularly as TN was struggling at 42 for 5. They were eventually bowled out for 146. Although they had Mumbai reeling at 106 for 7, a century from Shardul Thakur rescued Mumbai from a tricky situation. They eventually scored 378, which all but ensured TN was out of the game.