New Delhi, May 09: The third day of the Ranji trophy cricket final turned out to be the decisive phase of the match, Tamil Nadu pening batsman and former India player Sadagopan Ramesh said today. "I think we lost the match on the third day when we were bowled out for 271. We were aiming for a first innings lead of 100-150 runs but lost the last six wickets cheaply (for 43 runs)," Ramesh said over phone from Chennai. After skittling out hosts Mumbai for a modest 260, Tamil Nadu managed to extract only a paltry 11-run first innings lead. Mumbai went on to make 387 in the second innings before bowling out Tamil Nadu for 235 to clinch a 141-run victory and their 35th Ranji title. Ramesh also said some bad bowling and a few dropped catches completed a miserable day. "We did not bowl well at the start of second innings (of Mumbai) and also a dropped a few catches. It was a bad day overall for us," he said. Ramesh, who scored a patient 85 in the first innings, also denied his team employed a defensive tactic in their first innings, when they scored 223 runs for the loss of four wickets in 87 overs on day two.

Bureau Report