Second consecutive outright win for Tamil Nadu in Ranji

Tamil Nadu, which had beaten Railways in its last home encounter, crushed the host by an innings and 57 runs on Thursday. With the win, the Baba Aparajith-led side has 19 points from seven fixtures. Host Baroda, captained by Krunal Pandya, remains on 14 points from the same number of matches as its opponent.

While M Mohammed grabbed the headlines in the first innings with his seven-wicket haul, right-arm medium pacer K Vignesh (5/62) stole the show in the second, taking five wickets. Resuming on its overnight second innings total of 10 without loss, Baroda did show some resistance with the bat but couldn’t prevent an innings defeat.

All-rounder Krunal (74), who failed in the first innings, stitched a 73-run partnership with No.9 batsman Atit Sheth (70). While Krunal’s 95-ball innings was laced with 10 fours and two maximums, Atit’s 74-ball entertaining knock included seven fours and three sixes.

Apart from those two, none of the other home team’s batters crossed the 30-run mark. Had it not been for their half-centuries, Baroda, which was at one stage tottering at 62 for six, would have suffered a heavier defeat on its own patch.

Vignesh, who missed the Railways contest due to an injury, made a good comeback by bagging a five-wicket haul. He removed four of the top six batsmen, with his last scalp being Anureet Singh (13).

Mohammed (2/31) and R Sai Kishore (2/65) bagged two wickets each as skipper Baba Aparajith (1/44) got the remaining one. Having collected 14 points from its last couple of matches, D Vasu-coached Tamil Nadu will meet Saurashtra in its final round-robin assignment at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot from February 12.

Brief scores: Baroda (1st innings) 174 all-out in 51.4 overs; Tamil Nadu (1st innings) 490 for 7 decl. in 108.4 overs; Baroda (2nd innings) 259 all-out in 63.3 overs (K Pandya 74, A Sheth 70, K Vignesh 5/62).