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Tamil Nadu v Goa, Chennai, 2001-02My maiden first-class match actually helped me make my Ranji debut. It was against a tough Colombo side, which had around nine Test players - (Rangana) Herath, (Tillakaratne) Dilshan, (Thilan) Samaraweera, (Jehan) Mubarak, (Michael) Vandort, Ian Daniel, (Upul) Chandana and Prasanna Jayawardene. It was the MJ Gopalan Trophy and was watched by a good crowd. I bowled a wonderful spell I think: 16-10-16-4. That gave me an understanding of where I belong.I was also playing league cricket in Chennai, which was almost equal to Ranji Trophy. Vikram Rathore, Zaheer Khan, Rahul Dravid, Dinesh Mongia, Pankaj Dharmani played for different teams and it was very competitive. I was good enough in the league and believed I could do well in the Ranji Trophy also.After playing league cricket and Gopalan Trophy, I was expecting to be there for the match against Goa. If I say I wasnt nervous before my Ranji debut, I will be lying. Tamil Nadu had a lot of stars in the team. Robin Singh was the captain, there was Aashish Kapoor, Hemang Badani, Sadagoppan Ramesh, Sridharan Sharath. All were inspirational figures in the Tamil Nadu dressing room.I remember I was in my teens - I was 19 back then - in 2001. I was young and vibrant and was reasonably quick. I just wanted to take the ball and keep bowling the whole day. Today things have changed, in those days it [making a Ranji debut] was even more difficult. In those days you just wanted to share the dressing room with those Tamil Nadu legends and repeat what they do. To represent my state was a big pride and honour for me. R Ramkumar, the left-arm spinner, was also making his debut in same match. Ram is my room-mate from the [corporate team] Chemplast days. He is one of my closest friends from there onwards. Me and Ram were practicing slides before the game at the Chemplast ground, by around 6pm in the evening. It was something new to us. That was the last time I practiced sliding. We also bowled for two-three hours.I was very excited and waiting for the next day to start. My sleep was disturbed the night before the match. I got up and looked a few times at the clock, whether it had hit 6am - the time for me to get ready and go to the match.To play a Ranji game was definitely a big step-up. It was not boyish cricket anymore, it was about stepping into the shoes of a man. It was going to get tougher. The wicket had decent carry; Chennai wickets generally dont offer much to the seamers. I got a five-for in the second innings against Goa after two in the first innings.I remember my first-innings wickets were bowleds. One of the seniors came and told me finish it off, and the last batsman [Kalekar] was bowled.In the second innings, we were going for the innings victory, but couldnt get them all out. In those days, I used to bowl with the short run-up as well as the long run-up. I mixed them up and bowled one long spell in a row. I tried everything to get the outright victory - yorkers, back-of-the-hand slower balls, bouncers, variations. I remember Robin [Singh] telling me not to use many slower balls in four-day cricket and take genuine fast bowlers wickets like bowleds and caught off seam-up. I took it more seriously after that, because the slower ball is more like a defensive ball. Even in Test cricket, you dont get much wickets with the slower ball.That was my first five-wicket haul. I used to collect my five-wicket-haul balls during my club cricket days. Later I lost the habit of collecting balls, after I got into international cricket.My Ranji debut was a good boost and, from thereon, it was about taking one step at a time and getting better with experience.As told to Deivarayan MuthuCheap Nike MLB Jerseys . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Adidas NHL Jerseys 2020 . 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Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season.Neil McCann believes there are exciting times ahead for Scottish football, following Rangers promotion to the Premiership.The Gers sealed their return to the top tier of Scottish football, after a 1-0 win over Dumbarton on Tuesday sealed the Championship title.McCann, who played for Rangers between 1998 and 2003, told Sky Sports News HQ that the clubs presence in the top flight will be a bonus for the Scottish game as a whole. Its massively important to our game. Rangers helped a lot of sides along the way in getting back to the top division, but without a doubt, we need all our biggest teams in the top division, said McCann. Warburton: Job not done Rangers boss says the hard work is only just beginning Itll have a kickback right down the divisions, and just for the competition itself, its vital. Celtic have been winning titles, but the whole thing has stagnated.Aberdeen have been exceptional in the last couple of season, and indeed are still going for a title challenge. Hearts have proved they can do well coming up from the Championship, and Rangers will be looking to do that next year. There are exciting times ahead in our game. But McCann, who won 10 major honours at Ibrox, insists that it will not be easy for his old club to mount an immediate title challenge, and believes Rangers should learn from past mistakes, and build slowly.I think anything is possible, but I think you have to be realistic and think that Celtic are quite a bit ahead of Rangers at the moment, McCann added.Youll be looking at Hearts to go stronger next season, and Aberdeen. But if youre a Rangers fan, the expectation is going to be high and I think the players are fully aware of that. I think anything is possible, but I think you have to be realistic and think that Celtic are quite a bit ahead of Rangers at the moment.dddddddddddd Neil McCann, Sky Sports Andy Halliday suggested itd be ridiculous not to try and put in a title challenge for the fans. Rangers are starting to build things again, and its important they dont throw everything at it again. They need to be careful and go for it prudently.McCann also revealed his delight at the return of the Old Firm rivalry on a regular basis, and believes this months Scottish Cup semi-final clash between the sides will serve as a test to see how far Rangers have come.The semi-final will be a huge marker to see how far theyve come. They dismantled Dundee in the last round, which was a bit of a surprise. McCann believes Rangers clash with Celtic and manager Ronny Deila (pictured) will be a huge test of their ability But next week will be the test to see how close Rangers are to Celtic. Celtic arent firing on all cylinders, and I think theyve got weaknesses - but so do Rangers. This will tell everyone how close they can be.It is our flagship game, it brings huge interest back to our leagues again from all over Europe. It is a game that whets the appetite no matter who you are. Im delighted the game is back and, as I said, were just going to get a little bit of that when the sides meet in the semi-final.Also See:Warburton: Job far from overBall targets treble successRangers back in top flightRangers return good news ' ' '