Off-spinner Utkarsh Singh rated his spell (six for 30) versus Tamil Nadu on day one of the last-round Group-D match in the ongoing Ranji Trophy at the Keenan stadium here on Thursday as his best-ever five-wicket haul.

“I think this ranks as number one. Because, this is the quickest five-wicket haul that I’ve taken. And of course, when you don’t have to bowl as many overs to take a five-wicket haul, you feel better,” he said.

Utkarsh Singh
| Photo Credit:
S. Prasanna Venkatesan

Highlights of day 1 of Tamil Nadu vs Jharkhand

Utkarsh used pace variation to his advantage. “It (the wicket) was two-paced. But because it was also turning, I think that played to our benefit.

“Before me, two spinners (his teammates) had already bowled. And I had seen that they had bowled a little faster, because of which they didn’t get as much from the wicket. So, I started off bowling only a little slower. And I realised immediately that it’s only when you are bowling slow that you were getting the turn. The faster balls were going straighter. So, I used the straighter balls to just distract the batters. Pace variation is what really determines whether it will go straight or not,” he said.

The 26-year-old came into this match with a confidence-boosting five-wicket haul (five for 50) in the first innings against Chhattisgarh, which Jharkhand beat by eight wickets in the same ground. “In the previous match, the pitch was not as supportive. So, to have taken a five-wicket haul on a pitch that wasn’t supportive, gave me a lot of confidence,” he said.

“I’m happy with the way I’m bowling. I’m happy with the way the ball is coming out of my hand,” he added.