Abhinav’s double ton puts TN in control

In reply to Baroda’s first innings score of 174, Tamil Nadu racked up 490 for 7 declared built on Abhinav’s splendid knock and his big opening partnership with L Suryapprakash (75). The left-right opening combination added 172 runs for the wicket in 40 overs before Suryapprakash was castled by Babashafi Pathan.

In walked M Kaushik Gandhi and he batted with an aggressive intent scoring four boundaries but his enterprising knock was curtailed when left-arm orthodox spinner Swapnil Singh had him caught by Kedar Devdhar for 19 (24b, 4x4). Swapnil was at it again removing captain B Aparajith for eight caught behind by Viraj Bhosale.

Abhinav, on the other hand, was unaffected by the fall of wickets at the other end and looked determined to make a meaty contribution. Veteran Dinesh Karthik joined Abhinav after Aparajith’s dismissal and straightaway got into run-scoring act taking on the host’s bowlers. The 34-year-old Karthik fell one run short of a well-deserved 50 when he was dismissed lbw by Yusuf Pathan with the score on 331. His knock included eight fours and a six and came off only 36 balls.

B Indrajith looked compact during his stay in the middle but retired hurt when on 25. Soon after that, Abhinav was dismissed by Krunal Pandya for 206 (242b, 34x4) with the team score on 391. Towards the end, M Mohammed, first day’s bowling hero, struck a few lusty blows during his unbeaten knock of 54 (56b, 5x4, 3x6) to help his team to a healthy total of 490 for seven declared.

Brief scores: Baroda 174 and 10/0 vs Tamil Nadu 490/7 declared (Abhinav Mukund 206, L Suryapprakash 75; Yusuf Pathan 2-67). Baroda trails by 306 runs