Andhra has enjoyed an optimistic run in the Ranji Trophy’s ongoing season so far. After draws with Uttar Pradesh and Baroda, the side pummeled Odisha, winning by an innings and 50 runs.

But, the best was yet to come.

An emphatic four-wicket win against Tamil Nadu where Andhra wrapped the game up in three days has the domestic ecosystem talking about one unit needing some long-pending introspection while another seems to be heralding a new dawn.

Andhra’s rise has been slow but steady. Putting the blocks together is newly-appointed head coach Gary Stead. Funnily, if both he and the Andhra Cricket Association had their ways, this partnership wouldn’t have happened at all.

Stead initially wanted to continue as New Zealand’s Test coach, which New Zealand Cricket was not keen on. It named

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