Cold Play at Kotla: Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy cricketers weather Delhi winter – in monkey caps

BAGGY GREEN for the Aussies, maroon sun hat for the West Indians — cricketers wear their headgear with pride, as badges of honour. Though, sometimes, like on Tuesday at the freezing Feroz Shah Kotla, the reasons were more practical.
With the minimum temperature dropping to 5.6 degrees Celsius, and the national capital getting officially colder than Dehradun, Dharamshala and Nainital, the stadium witnessed a rare sight: cricketers from Tamil Nadu sporting monkey caps in the field, apart from several layers of clothing, for their third-round away Ranji Trophy game against hosts Delhi.
From the time the visiting team landed in the capital, the focus has not just been on the opposition. They arrived here with an eye on the chill and were well-equipped to tackle it, especially given that the winter temperatures back in Chennai don’t go below the mid-twenties, even at night.
The two practice sessions they had before the game at the Feroz Shah Kotla started around 12 pm. However, the 9.30 am start on Day 1 at the Kotla proved to be a bit too much for some players, especially seamer L Vignesh, who bowled with his monkey cap on.
Tamil Nadu bowler Lakshminarayanan Vignesh during the first day of Ranji Trophy match against Delhi, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. (PTI Photo)
“I’ve experienced cold weather before, but today was totally different because there was this chill breeze that was blowing across. I’ve played before at Dharamsala, but it was manageable. But here, it was just too much to handle. ( wearing a monkey cap) I knew that I would be giving content to meme makers, and even some of the guys (teammates) were pulling my leg. But I was like, I need this because I couldn’t manage,” Vignesh told The Indian Express.
On Tuesday, the effect of Delhi’s winter was clearly visible at the stadium. Dense fog blotted out the sun and the match was stopped for 5-7 minutes after just one over was bowled. Delhi openers Anuj Rawat and Dhruv Shorey spoke to the umpires after the first over and the adjudicators took them off the field.
The conditions, though, didn’t dent 33-year-old Vignesh as he accounted for the wickets of Rawat and Yash Dhull in his first spell to rock Delhi early. While Washington Sundar was the other TN player to sport a monkey cap, the rest resorted to hand warmers.
“You needed to be warm to bowl normally and when I took the field, I couldn’t even feel my fingers and this despite me wearing a skinner, thermal wear, a T-shirt, the jersey, and the sweater. And at the other end we had Sandy (Sandeep Warrier) who was just bowling with his jersey,” Vignesh said.
Tamil Nadu bowlers Lakshminarayanan Vignesh, Vijay Shankar, Sandeep Warrier and Washington Sundar during the end of first day of Ranji Trophy match against Delhi, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. (PTI Photo)
“Although I got two wickets, I couldn’t even feel the ball in my hand. For instance, I had to use my shoulder more than I usually do and had to make a few adjustments, especially with regards to how I load up to the crease. If I didn’t use my shoulder enough, I would have probably bowled more half-volleys,” he said.
Even the in-form Delhi opener Shorey, who scored a patient half-century (66), said the conditions were challenging for the batsmen. “The conditions were good for bowlers. It was seaming a bit in the morning but as the day progressed, it got better,” said Shorey, who put on 105 runs for the third wicket with Jonty Sidhu (57).
It was a good toss for Tamil Nadu skipper Baba Indrajith to win as he put Delhi into bat. In the morning, the ball was still doing a bit and Vignesh — who swings the ball both ways — made the most of it.
Just before the tea break, Vignesh, with his woollen headgear on, bagged the prized wicket of Shorey, who got undone a good outswinger. The mercury dipped further in the final session and bad light forced the umpires to declare the end of the day’s play with Delhi tottering at 212 for six at stumps.
Tamil Nadu, in their monkey caps, had weathered the Delhi winter.