CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu’s disappointing run in the domestic circuit continued as the team suffered yet another defeat, this time against Jharkhand in Ahmedabad in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Wednesday.
Batting first, skipper Narayan Jagadeesan was dismissed without scoring. Pradosh Ranjan Paul and Baba Indrajith stabilised the innings, but both fell short of their half-centuries.
The rest of the batting order also failed to build partnerships, though Sonu Yadav added some crucial runs towards the end as Tamil Nadu posted 243.
Shubham Kumar was the pick of the bowlers for Jharkhand, finishing with four wickets for 53 runs.
Jharkhand made light work of the chase, with opener Utkarsh Singh scoring a superb 123 and Shikhar Mohan contributing 90, as they reached the target in 41 overs.
Pant fails to fire as Odisha beats Delhi
India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant’s indifferent form, combined with Delhi’s leading batters failing to deliver, ended the team’s unbeaten run as Odisha secured a comprehensive 79-run win in a Group D match on Wednesday.
With national selectors set to announce the squad for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand in the first week of January, Pant — the Delhi captain and key India batter — was the centre of attention.
However, he managed only 24, as Delhi’s much-vaunted batting lineup collapsed and was bowled out for 193 in 43.3 overs while chasing a gettable 272/8 posted by Odisha after being sent in to bat.
Delhi’s campaign so far has relied on at least one strong individual batting effort in each match, but the absence of such an innings on Wednesday cost them both the game and their top spot on the points table — a result that could prove significant as the tournament progresses.
Odisha climbed to the top of the table with 12 points and a healthy net run rate, while Delhi, despite being level on points, slipped to fourth, with Railways and Haryana moving ahead on superior NRR.
This was also the first time this season that Delhi failed to cross 200 — a stark contrast to the opener against Andhra, where Virat Kohli struck a century, and the previous match against Saurashtra, where opener Priyansh Arya scored a fluent 78.
Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 243 in 45 overs (Pradosh Ranjan Paul 49, Baba Indrajith 48, Shubham Kumar 4/53) lost to Jharkhand 244/1 in 41 overs (Utkarsh Singh 123, Shikhar Mohan 90)