Sai Kishore had taken 2-72 and 4-80 against Punjab to help Tamil Nadu qualify for the quarter-finals. Then he claimed 5-66 and 4-27 and made 60 to help them thrash Saurashtra by an innings in the quarter-finals.

In the semi-final at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, Tamil Nadu were left reeling at 60-6 against the Mumbai pacers before Vijay Shankar (44) and Washington Sundar (43) lifted them to 146.

But the Tamil Nadu captain hit back. He had trapped opener Bhupen Lalwani on the first evening as Mumbai had gone to stumps at 45-2. On the second morning, Mohit Avasthi went for a hoick, missed the line, and was stumped.

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Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane was next, caught brilliantly at first slip by Baba Indrajith. Musheer Khan had held the fort at one end with 55 before N Jagadeesan’s lightning glovework resulted in his stumping.

Sai Kishore got his fifth wicket when he got one to turn into the left-handed Shams Mulani, who attempted a cut and was bowled.

At the time of writing, Mumbai were 161-7 with Shardul Thakur (27) and Hardik Tamore (24) at the crease. Sai Kishore had figures of 5-52.

It is worth a mention that none of Tamil Nadu’s three outright wins against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy has been away from home.

Watch Sai Kishore take five wickets against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy semi-final:

Fabulous fifer 👌👌

Captain Sai Kishore has spearheaded Tamil Nadu's fightback against Mumbai with a splendid spell so far 👏👏

Relive 📽️ his brilliant spell @IDFCFIRSTBank | #RanjiTrophy | #MUMvTN | #SF2

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/9tosMLk9TT pic.twitter.com/zOhv6ZWuNt

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) March 3, 2024