Ajith Ram, the left-arm spinner for TNCA XI, shares a striking resemblance to Boxer, the hard-working horse in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Just like Boxer relished his work, Ajith thrives on bowling long spells, even on wickets offering little assistance to spinners. In the semifinal of the Buchi Babu Memorial All India cricket tournament against Chhattisgarh at the NPR College cricket ground in Natham, he bowled a remarkable 42 overs over two days, claiming four wickets for 109 runs.
“I generally love bowling a lot, wherever I play,” said the 25-year-old spinner on Tuesday. “Long spells provide ample opportunities to pick up wickets. It’s something I truly enjoy.” He likened his approach to adjusting a radio dial to find the perfect frequency, explaining his love for plotting a batsman’s dismissal with each over.
“When you bowl extensively in the longer format, you learn a lot. You understand the right speeds, the best deliveries for different batsmen, and the art of patiently building up pressure. I enjoy this process immensely, which is why I love bowling long spells.”
Ajith’s dismissal of Chhattisgarh opener Shashank Chandrakar in just ten deliveries on the first day provides a fascinating insight into his instinctive learning. Chandrakar, in his first over, launched two consecutive sweeps off the middle-stump line for a six and a four. Responding astutely, Ajith delivered a shorter, just-outside-off delivery in his next over. Chandrakar, anticipating the turn, went back to cut the ball but was struck on the back pad, resulting in an lbw dismissal.
“Since I was bowling with the new ball, I tried to be cautious to observe his approach. After those two sweeps, I understood he was ready to attack me. As he was sweeping comfortably off the stump line, I decided to bowl outside the stump line. I had bowled the previous two deliveries slower, so I wanted to see his reaction to a slightly quicker delivery. I hoped he would go for the sweep again, presenting an lbw opportunity. I bowled it short, giving the ball ample time to sharply turn in. Furthermore, the new ball added extra sharpness to the delivery.”
Ajith concluded the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy as the joint second-highest wicket-taker with 41 wickets from 13 innings for Tamil Nadu. He currently leads the wicket-taking charts in the TNCA first division cricket league, having claimed 32 wickets for Globe Trotters SC after five rounds. His focus now is on maintaining this fine form and contributing significantly for Tamil Nadu this season.
