When a team is in a desperate situation and needs inspiration, there’s nothing bigger than a skipper providing it.
Tamil Nadu captain and left-arm spinner, R. Sai Kishore (3/48), did just that on day two of the Ranji Trophy encounter against Chandigarh here on Friday.
Chandigarh, replying to the host’s 301, had a poor start. Pacer M. Mohammed struck early, trapping debutant Tushar Joshi in front off the 11th ball of the innings.
Skipper Manan Vohra, however, displayed positive intent, stroking three elegant boundaries. Opener Shivam Bhambri (108, 139b, 11×4, 3×6), taking a cue from his leader, started middling the ball as the pair built a solid partnership.
With the sun beating down and the pitch not offering much, Shivam scored at a brisk rate. He was at ease both against pace and spin, and was not averse to taking the aerial route as the three big sixes over long-off showed. Against the run of play, Mohammed broke the 97-run second-wicket association when he gobbled up a return catch off Vohra’s mistimed flick.
Shivam and new-man Kunal Mahajan sustained the momentum with a 71-run alliance for the third wicket, a phase that saw the former reach his second century of the season.
Just when it looked like the visitor was cruising along, the drinks break did the trick for Tamil Nadu. Sai Kishore’s delivery outside leg lured Shivam down the track and N. Jagadeesan completed a superb stumping.
The Chandigarh procession began as Sai Kishore struck twice off successive deliveries in his next over, removing Ankit Kaushik and Mayank Sidhu.
The other left-arm spinner S. Ajith Ram, motivated by his skipper’s heroics, got into the act. In a remarkable spell (18.4-6-34-5), he dismissed Mahajan and the tailenders — Jagjit Singh, Vishu Kashyap, Rohit Dhanda, and Abhishek Saini.
Tamil Nadu ended the day at 27 for two, a lead of 124.
The scores:
Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: 301.
Chandigarh – 1st innings: Shivam Bhambri st Jagadeesan b Sai Kishore 108, Tushar Joshi lbw b Mohammed 0, Manan Vohra c & b Mohammed 34, Kunal Mahajan lbw b Ajith 30, Ankit Kaushik b Sai Kishore 2, Mayank Sidhu c Jagadeesan b Sai Kishore 0, Jagjit Singh lbw b Ajith 14, Vishu Kashyap c Jagadeesan b Ajith 7, Nishunk Birla (not out) 5, Rohit Dhanda lbw b Ajith 0, Abhishek Saini b Ajith 0; Extras (b-4): 4; Total (in 71.4 overs): 204.
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-105, 3-176, 4-178, 5-178, 6-178, 7-195, 8-200, 9-204.
Tamil Nadu bowling: Sandeep 7-1-25-0, Mohammed 15-3-51-2, Sai Kishore 22-5-48-3, Ajith Ram 18.4-6-34-5, Vijay Shankar 5-0-35-0, Mohamed Ali 4-0-7-0.
Tamil Nadu — 2nd innings: S. Mohamed Ali c (sub) Amrit b Jagjit 3, N. Jagadeesan (batting) 10, Pradosh Ranjan Paul c Tushar b Nishunk 8, S. Ajith Ram (batting) 1; Extras (b-4, lb-1) 5; Total (for two wkts. in 16 overs): 27.
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-21.
Chandigarh bowling: Nishunk Birla 8-3-11-1, Jagjit Singh 5-1-8-1, Vishu Kashyap 3-1-3-0.
Published – January 24, 2025 09:47 pm IST
