Ajith Ram joins elite club after century and five-wicket haul
The left-arm spinner became only the fourth player in Tamil Nadu's history to achieve these milestones in a single First Class match.
Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner S. Ajith Ram scored his maiden century and took seven wickets in the second innings to help his team defeat Chandigarh by an innings and 260 runs. The Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match took place on Thursday, according to The Hindu and Sportstar.
With this performance, Ajith Ram became only the fourth player in nine decades of Tamil Nadu cricket to score a century and claim five or more wickets in an innings during the same First Class match. He joins A.G. Ram Singh, B.C.
Alva, and S. Vasudevan in this group.
The achievement follows a serious injury a year ago, when the spinner suffered complete tears of the meniscus and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. Ajith Ram told The Hindu that he was unsure if he would ever play cricket again due to the injury.
“Honestly, it was a dream game. I never expected a performance like this,” Ajith Ram said.
He added that he was thankful for the strength to return and that everything happened in a flow while he was enjoying himself.
The player noted that he did not look at the scoreboard or think about his maiden century while in the 90s. He stated that he wanted to improve his batting to contribute to the success of Tamil Nadu, noting that winning teams often have contributions from the lower-order.