Tamil Nadu began their campaign in Ranji Trophy 2024-25 with a dominant win.© X/@BCCIDomestic

From making Virat Kohli “angry” in the nets to castling Cheteshwar Pujara in a crucial Ranji Trophy match, Tamil Nadu pacer Gurjapneet Singh has caught the eyes of cricket lovers in India. Born and raised in Ambala, Gurjapneet constantly failed to get into Punjab age-group team, before finally deciding to move to Chennai for better opportunities. After initial struggles, Gurjapneet is now winning games in Ranji Trophy for his adopted state, Tamil Nadu. The 25-year-old claimed a six-wicket haul to help Tamil Nadu beat Saurashtra in their Elite Group D match on Monday.

His remarkable figures of 14-5-22-6 included the crucial wickets of veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Sheldon Jackson.

For the unversed, Gurjapneet was one of the net bowlers for India for their two-match Test series against Bangladesh recently.

In a recent interaction, Gurjapneet recalled castling Kohli in the nets, which infuriated the star batter.

“After I bowled him, I looked at him and didn’t dare to look at him again. He was very, very angry. But I realised, he was angry with himself more than anything. And after a straight drive, he again looked at me and smiled,” Gurjapneet told the Indian Express.

However, Gurjapneet also revealed Kohli’s advice, which helped him get the better of the Saurashtra batters.

“He told me, when there is no movement, change the angle and try bowling around the wicket. Because with that angle, even if you manage to get slight movement, it will end up troubling most batsmen,” he further revealed.

Meanwhile, Kohli will be back in action on Wednesday as India take on New Zealand in the first Test in Bengaluru.

The young pacer also shed light on how he planned Pujara’s dismissal, describing the latter as a “legend”.

“When you bowl to a legendary batsman like him, you have to be accurate from the word go. So the plan was to push him on the backfoot and then send in a good front foot ball that would make him uncomfortable. Having gone wicketless in the first innings, Bala bhai (L Balaji) told me to go out there looking for a wicket as there is a strong chance that I would deviate from the plan. And with the pitch not offering much, around the stumps was the best option and it worked as we also saw (Jaydev) Unadkat do the same in the morning session” Gurjapneet added.

Cheteshwar Pujara endured a six-ball duck as Saurashtra were left reeling at 35/5, trailing by 129 runs in the second innings with Tamil Nadu taking complete command of their Ranji Trophy Group D clash. On the third day of the season-opener, Tamil Nadu’s left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh ran riot in the Saurashtra ranks, returning 9-5-7-4 as the visitors were left staring at a huge task at the close of play. Saurashtra conceded a massive first-innings lead of 164 as TN folded for 367 after resuming at 278/3 against the visitor’s 203.

Javdev Unadkat returned 6/61 from his 24 overs.

Gurjapneet’s victims included Pujara, who made 16 in the first essay, as the out-of-favour India batter was trapped in front of the wickets in the second innings.

Arpit Vasavada (15 not out) and Sheldon Jackson (5 not out) were at the crease.

In Chandigarh, Railways completed a comprehensive win by 181 runs as the hosts were shot out for another poor total of 159 in 40.2 overs chasing 341.

Akash Pandey (4/46), Karn Sharma (3/18) and Himanshu Sangwan (2/28) caused the damage as Chandigarh, despite some resistance from Arslan Khan (46) and Ankit Kaushik (45), folded quickly again.

In another match, Delhi took a slender lead of 14 runs in the first innings but Chhattisgarh edged ahead, reaching 33 for no loss to move ahead by 19 runs at stumps on the third day.

While skipper Himmat Singh made 65 (123 balls 8x4s, 1x6s), it was Jonty Sidhu’s 170-ball 103 not out (11 fours, 2 sixes) which gave Delhi a slight advantage.

In Guwahati, hosts Assam were placed in a tricky position of 130/3, leading by 51 runs, after being asked to follow-on.

Assam were shot out for a mere 180 in reply to Jharkhand’s 361 in the first innings.

Brief scores: At Coimbatore: Saurashtra 203 & 35/5 in 25 overs (Arpit Vasavada 15*, Gurjapneet 4/7) trail Tamil Nadu 367 in 121.3 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 82, N Jagadeesan 100, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 49; Jaydev Unadkat 6/61) by 129 runs.

At Chandigarh: Railways 142 & 307 beat Chandigarh 109 & 159 in 40.2 overs (Arslan Khan 46; Akash Pandey 4/46, Karn Sharma 3/18) by 181 runs.

At Raipur: Chhattisgarh 343 & 33/0 in 8 overs (Ayush Pandey 22*) lead Delhi 357 in 116.2 overs (Himmat Singh 65, Jonty Sidhu 103*; Ajay Mandal 3/101, Ashish Chouhan 3/53) by 19 runs.

At Guwahati: Jharkhand 361 lead Assam 180 in 70.2 overs (Sibsankar Roy 42; Utkarsh Singh 3/41, Manishi 3/41) & f/o 130/3 in 55 overs (Parves Musaraf 57; Manishi 1/32).