R Sai Kishore claimed a match haul of 9 for 93 and scored a combative half-century in the first innings to lead Tamil Nadu to an innings and 33 runs victory over defending champions Saurashtra. This win in Coimbatore secures TN's first semi-final entry since 2016-17.
Sai Kishore, who has impressive numbers of 47 wickets at an average of 18.78, now leads the wickets tally for the season. He has also scored two half-centuries with the bat.
In the semi-final, his performance with the ball made a significant impact. He took 5 wickets and conceded only 66 runs, limiting Saurashtra to a total of 183 in the first innings. Of those runs, 83 were scored by Harvik Desai.
TN was struggling at 134 for 4 when Sai Kishore was dismissed. However, Baba Indrajith and Boopathi Kumar, in his first-class debut season, hit half-centuries during a 119-run partnership and propelled TN into the lead. The lower order made significant contributions, giving them a 155-run advantage.
Saurashtra's second innings began poorly as they were reduced to 20 for 2 by fast bowler Sandeep Warrier. Cheteshwar Pujara briefly held the innings together, top-scoring with 46, but Sai Kishore once again ran rampant, and when Pujara was dismissed eighth, an innings defeat looked inevitable.