Indrajith’s ton rescues Tamil Nadu against Mumbai

After bowling out Mumbai for 374, the visitor’s top order failed to get going and was soon reduced to 34 for three. Opener Murali Vijay, who has been recalled to the Indian Test squad for the series against Sri Lanka, fell cheaply to the slow left-arm orthodox spin of Vijay Gohil. The 33-year-old Vijay missed TN’s second match owing to a neck sprain. 

Reflecting on his unbeaten hundred, the 23-year-old Indrajith explained his approach. “I wasn’t thinking too far ahead and wanted to keep it simple. Washington and I shared a good partnership in the last match as well and even today we kept pushing each other to play a long innings. The Mumbai bowling was good and they tried everything including bouncers to try and unsettle us but we remained patient,” said Indrajith.

On what the team’s strategy would be leading into the third day, the TN vice-captain replied that they are not still thinking about the lead as it is trailing by 135 runs. “We are not thinking about the lead as we are some distance from it. Knowing Mumbai, we can’t afford to relax, as it is always capable of coming back hard. However, the wicket is still good to execute our shots,” added Indrajith.

Mumbai (1st innings) P Shaw c Indrajith b Ashwin 123, A Herwadkar lbw Yo Mahesh 0, S Iyer c Jagadeesan b Vijay Shankar 57, S Yadav lbw Yo Mahesh 39, S Lad c Yo Mahesh b Ashwin 18, A Tare c Jagadeesan b Ashwin 53, A Nayar c Vijay b Vijay Shankar 20, V Gohill c K Vignesh b Vijay Shankar 2, A Parkar not out 33, D Kulkarni c Ashwin b Rahill 5, A Dhumal b Ashwin 13. Extras 11. Total (in 103.1 overs) 374 FoW: 1-8, 2-106, 3-169, 4-220, 5-245, 6-308, 7-314, 8-322, 9-339 and 10-374 Bowling: K Vignesh 12-0-53-0, Yo Mahesh 15-2-61-2, R Shah 28-3-105-1, R Ashwin 30.1-5-783, Vijay Shankar 14-4-52-4, W Sundar 4-0-17-0 Tamil Nadu (1st innings) A Mukund b A Parkar 9, M Vijay c Tare b V Gohill 11, K Gandhi b Nayar 6, B Indrajith batting 105, Vijay Shankar st Tare b V Gohill 18, W Sundar c S Yadav b D Kulkarni 69, R Ashwin batting 8. Extras 13. Total (for 5 wickets in 65 overs) 239 FoW: 1-14, 2-32, 3-34, 4-69 and 5-226 Bowling: D Kulkarni 15-4-35-1, A Parkar 9-047-1, A Nayar 15-4-45-1, V Gohill 18-1-58-2, A Dhumal 8-1-45-0