CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu ended the opening day at 71/3, with Baba Indrajith unbeaten on 13 after Railways’ late resistance had reduced the visitors’ first-innings lead to 113 runs in the Ranji Trophy Group D encounter here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday.
Jagadeesan’s opening partner, Vimal Khumar, endured another nightmare, recording his second duck in as many innings. His early dismissal brought last match’s centurion, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, to the crease. Off-spinner Toufik Mondal first turned Jagadeesan inside out before deceiving Pradosh (19) with an easy caught-and-bowled.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Tamil Nadu skipper Sai Kishore didn’t hesitate one bit, as the side opted to make the best use of the overcast conditions on offer. Returning Sonu Yadav (3/46) combined well with Gurjapneet Singh to reduce the visitors to 7/3 in the first six overs. The all-rounder used angles effectively to dismiss left-handers Eshaan Goyal and Mohammad Saif.
“Today planned that there was some seam and the wicket was damp, so I tried looking for movement from over the wicket. But then Pradosh [Paul] came from behind and told me to switch to around the wicket, and that brought immediate success,” Sonu said after the day’s play.
Sai Kishore too got the ball to talk, dismissing Raj Choudhary with a ball that straightened into the right-hander to bring up his 200th Ranji Trophy wicket. Vivek Singh too walked back for a 36-ball 14 before off-spinner Hemchudeshan accounted for Ravi Singh.
Tamil Nadu, however, couldn't wrap up the tail quickly at 102/8, with Zubair Ali putting on a show. After assessing the conditions, the right-hander took on the bowlers, scoring 24 runs off boundaries against Sai and 23 against Sonu, including a 19-run over. Railways' last pair, Zubair and Himanshu Sangwan, added 61 runs, taking them to 184 -- a tricky score on a two-paced surface.
“We have to give the batters some credit too. He [Zubair] attacked during the over and rotated strike with a single off the final delivery. It's always challenging when a tail-ender and an established batsman form that kind of rhythm, because they don't look to hit every ball and manage the strike cleverly. It was tough, but we will learn from it and address it as we go along," Sonu added.
When asked about how the surface would behave on day two, Sonu said, "I definitely feel the wicket will assist spinners more as the match progresses. There was some assistance even this morning as wear and tear sets in; the pitch will provide more help for the spinners. But we still need to execute our plans properly, as we did in the last match."
Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 71/3 in 25 overs (Jagadeesan 30, Pradosh 19; Toufik 2/15) trails Railways 184 all-out in 53.3 overs (Zubair 75; Sonu 3/46, Sai 3/53) by 113 runs