Sukirt and Rathva engineer Baroda’s recovery against Tamil Nadu

Fighting half-centuries from Sukirt Pandey (73 batting) and Ninad Rathva (66) ensured Baroda’s recovery from a wobbly start as the visitors made 247 for five against Tamil Nadu on day one of their final Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match at the Salem Cricket Foundation ground on Thursday.

After Baroda elected to bat, the openers saw off the initial burst from R. Sonu Yadav and debutant G. Govinth. Shivalik Sharma was aggressive, hitting fine drives and punches, and he also had luck on his side, with a couple of edges flying to the third-man fence.

It forced TN skipper R. Sai Kishore to introduce spin in the 10th over. J. Hemchudeshan bowled beautifully with control and guile to capitalise on the assistance from the pitch, striking thrice in his first four overs.

The off-spinner removed the opening pair of Jyotsnil Singh and Shivalik, caught at short-leg and silly-point, respectively; on both occasions, the ball gripping off the surface and bounce did the trick. He then foxed Shashwat Rawat to have him stumped.

Sai Kishore then joined the action, dismissing Vishnu Solanki. Andre Siddarth completed the catch — his third — at a close-in position to leave the visitors in a spot of bother at 72 for four.

But once the pitch eased after the early-morning moisture had dried, Rathva and Sukirt were able to keep the scoreboard ticking while being circumspect. Rathva employed the sweep shot effectively and brought up his half-century with panache, pulling Sonu Yadav through midwicket. Just when he looked to up the ante, his most productive shot led to his downfall as he was trapped leg-before by Sai Kishore.

Sukirt, who was content with playing second fiddle to Rathva, then opened up, stroking crisply through covers against the tweakers. He found good support from his skipper, Atit Sheth (45 batting), as they put together an unbroken 90-run stand for the sixth wicket and kept TN at bay in the final session.