Tamil Nadu skipper Abhinav Mukund today said there is no shame to lose to champions Karnataka in the final of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament but vowed to come back strongly in the next season of the premier domestic event.
"There is no shame in losing to this side (Karnataka). They are a very good side. They have played really good cricket over five days, they were consistent. Obviously there are areas to work for us. But there is a light of hope in this Tamil Nadu team. Youngsters are coming through, there is a lot of positive for us. I think we take this pack to our state and hopefully we can come back next season stronger," he told reporters at the post-match conference.
The 25-year old batsman said Karnataka had given their best in the match despite losing the summit clash by an innings and 217 runs.
"I think we gave it our best shot. We went out there and tried every single plan that we had but we failed. There is no harm in saying that we tried our best and we failed," he said.
Tamil Nadu coach W V Raman conceded that his team had some short-comings in the bowling department.
"If you look at the attack, we had a fair bit of inexperience in it. We also had the problem to constantly change our bowling options due to various reasons. Injuries to bowlers and also other problems started crept along the way. When we came to the knockout phase, this is what we could throw up. Aswin Crist is a youngster, he is on the learning curve. Prasanth is coming back from an injury.
"We knew our limitations and we were banking on the fact that we would put up a good score and try and neutralise the pressure that always runs on the board do. Obviously that didn't work. We know our limitations and try to work hard as far as the bowling side is concerned and we are also identifying a few youngsters who are promising. There is a lot work that needs to be done, especially when it comes to the seam attack," he said.
