CHENNAI: R Vimal Khumar's century (112; 215b, 12x4, 1x6) and skipper Pradosh Ranjan Paul's valuable 91 (182b, 10x4) propelled TNCA President's XI to post 265 for 3 in 90 overs against Jammu & Kashmir in the semifinals of the Buchi Babu tournament played at CSK-HPC grounds here on Sunday.
The duo added 189 runs in 56.4 overs for the second wicket to put the hosts in a position of strength. It had rained on Saturday night and there must have been some moisture in the wicket but they batted with patience. "I feel it's a good innings because this morning definitely the wicket had a lot of help for the fast bowler. They (J&K) played only one fast bowler. There was a lot of help for him, so, it was important that I play him through, not try much off his bowling," said Vimal after the day's play. "They had to bring the spinners early on, as they were playing with only one fast bowler. So, when the spinners came, we knew that the wicket was not doing much for the spinner, as we expected it to. So, I just wanted to play normal, after seeing the first spell of that fast bowler," he added.
With B Sai Sudharsan being in the mix for the Test team, the openers slot for the upcoming Ranji season is up for grabs but Vimal said he is not focussed on that. "I just want to do my part well. I want to get runs and make sure my team is winning when I get runs. So, I am just trying to focus more on that. The wicket was good, I didn't want to try too many things. I just wanted to play normal cricket, I didn't want to take too much risk," he said.
Pradosh was happy that Vimal got a ton and blamed himself for missing the century. "Vimal played extremely well. We complimented each other and managed to stitch a partnership and put runs on the board. Yes it was my mistake that led to missing the century once again. Next time I will try to make it (century)," he said.
Chief coach M Senthilnathan who had a long chat with chief selector K Shri Vasudevadas during tea break was happy with the day's proceedings. "Pretty happy about how the day's play went. We are about 265 for 3, but well considering the outfield was a little slower and the ball was not coming onto the bat earlier. They were careful earlier on and I think we've done pretty well," said Senthilnathan. "Vimal has been playing very well. He's sort of getting into you know, like fighting hard to get a place. It's very difficult you see to play Buchu Babu itself, we have so many openers getting hundreds. So he's sort of making sure that gets more runs. That kind of fighting ability is inside him and he applied himself very well. Pradosh could have hit so many shots, but he's controlling himself, It's a fourth 50 for him in the tournament. Four innings, he's got all 50s except one game, one innings he didn't get. Otherwise, he's doing his best job," the coach added.
Brief scores: At CSK-HPC: TNCA President's XI 265/3 in 90 ovs (R Vimal Khumar 112, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 91) vs Jammu & Kashmir.
At Guru Nanak: Hyderabad 225 in 80 ovs (Rahul Radesh 31, Hima Teja 31, Varun Goud 41, Amit Rana 3/52) vs Haryana 14/0 in 8 ovs.