Ranji: Tamil Nadu stays on top

Left-arm spinners R Sai Kishore and Manimaran Siddharth picked up two Chhattisgarh wickets apiece as Tamil Nadu continued to dominate the Ranji Trophy Elite Group H match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Guwahati.

At stumps on Day Two – Friday – Chhattisgarh was tottering at 105 for five while responding to Tamil Nadu’s first-innings total of 470 for nine declared.

Chhattisgarh skipper Harpreet Singh Bhatia (47 batting off 114 balls, 3 fours) and Shashank Singh (0 batting off 15 balls) were unbeaten in the middle at close of play. Sai Kishore (2/20) and Siddharth (2/35) made full use of the spin-friendly conditions to put the opposition on the back foot while pacer M Mohammed (1/5) chipped in with a scalp for Tamil Nadu.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu, which began the day at 308 for four, added 162 runs for the loss of five wickets before declaring its opening innings.

Baba Aparajith (166 off 267 balls, 15 fours, 4 sixes) and Shahrukh Khan (69 off 105 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes) picked up from where they left off, but the southern team lost quick wickets after the latter’s dismissal. Left-arm spinners Sumit Ruikar (4/168) and Ajay Mandal (3/132) were the pick of the Chhattisgarh bowlers in the first essay.