Tamil Nadu avoids defeat to Mumbai on final day

CHENNAI: Vijay Shankar struck his first century since returning from injury as Tamil Nadu avoided defeat and secured a solitary point from the drawn Ranji Trophy Group B match against Mumbai, which concluded on Friday in Mumbai.

On the fourth and final day, Tamil Nadu was bowled out for 548 in its second innings after Vijay Shankar’s (103 off 174 balls, 13 fours) century. Mumbai was set a victory target of 212, but stood at 137 for three at the end of the match.

Beginning the day on its overnight score of 380 for four, the visiting team added 168 runs for the loss of six wickets before putting the host into bat for the second time in the match. The bulk of the scoring on the day was done by Vijay Shankar and Pradosh Ranjan Paul (169 off 308 balls, 12 fours, 2 sixes), who accumulated 221 runs for the fifth wicket.

However, once Pradosh was sent back by off-spinner Tanush Kotian (4/129) at 502 for five in the 144th over, Tamil Nadu lost the momentum it had built and its batters fell like a pack of cards. At one stage, it felt like the tourist had not secured a good enough lead to avoid defeat, but Shahrukh Khan (23 not out off 38 balls, 2 fours) and R Sai Kishore (19 off 61 balls, 3 fours) combined to eat up close to 100 balls. Tanush and left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (3/147) removed the tail and were the standout bowlers for the home side in the second innings. In the fourth and final essay of the match, Mumbai opener Yashasvi Jaiswal sizzled with an unbeaten 66 (60 balls, 6 fours, 1 six).

Following the result, Tamil Nadu is sixth in the group with seven points off four matches while Mumbai, which earned three points from the game, is second with 16 points from four matches.

BRIEF SCORES: Tamil Nadu 144 & 548 in 162.5 overs (Pradosh Ranjan Paul 169, Vijay Shankar 103, Baba Indrajith 103, B Sai Sudharsan 68, Tanush Kotian 4/129, Shams Mulani 3/147) drew with Mumbai 481 & 137/3 in 24.2 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 66*). Points: Mumbai 3(16); Tamil Nadu 1(7)