The Tamil Nadu men’s team is heading north both literally and metaphorically.

Ghosts from the past resurfaced when the State side put in a tepid performance in its Ranji Trophy season-opener against Rajasthan in Jaipur. But a trip down south proved fruitful as Sai Kishore and Co. gave themselves the much-needed fillip with back-to-back victories — over Uttarakhand and Railways — in Chennai.

Bubbling with confidence and back on the road again, Tamil Nadu (second on the table with 14 points from three matches) is set for the Chandigarh (seventh with one point from three matches) challenge in an Elite Group D fixture at the Sector-16 Stadium from Monday. The fourth-round clash assumes added significance, for it will be the last game for both teams before the prestigious red-ball competition takes a break.

If the host opts for a surface similar to the one used in the previous encounter against Himachal Pradesh, the visitor must modify its recipe for success: as many as 1,244 runs were racked up for the loss of just 11 wickets in the Chandigarh-HP batathon.

In such a scenario, the TN willow-wielders should turn hunger into runs, considering that the southern outfit has not crossed the 350-mark yet this campaign.

On the bowling side, ensuring a first-innings lead for three points may not be a bad option. But head coach Yo Mahesh said that his boys would do everything in their power to complete a hat-trick of wins. “Regardless of the pitch, our bowling attack’s goal is to take 20 wickets. If it is too flat, we will have to change our plans and combination,” Yo Mahesh told The Hindu.

The Manan Vohra-led Chandigarh, meanwhile, has inspired little in its winless run so far. A gargantuan effort is required to prevent it from going further south.