CHENNAI: It was a mixed day for Tamil Nadu in their Ranji Trophy opener against Rajasthan at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Monday. While the hosts managed to reach 363 before they were bowled out, Tamil Nadu lost four wickets before stumps but had managed 167 before close of play on Day Two. The visitors still trail by 196 runs.
On Monday morning, D Deepesh, a debutant at this level, did the star turn with the ball as he picked up three wickets on the second morning to put the brakes on the scoring. Thanks partly to his efforts, the hosts only added 77 runs to their overnight score and lost six wickets before lunch.
In response, the visitors lost B Sai Sudharsan early but a century stand between N Jagadeesan (55) and Pradosh Paul (58) took them to a position of strength before tea. However, they lost both set batters before Baba Indrajith was dismissed just before close of play.
Resuming on their overnight score of 4/286, the hosts were set for a score beyond 400 but Devendran, who shared the new ball on the opening morning, was spot on with his deliveries on the second day. He came into his own after centurion Karam Lamba was removed by Sonu Yadav, trapped in front. Mahipal Lomror was the first of the three wickets for Devendran, caught by sub S Ajith Ram. While Washington Sundar and R Sai Kishore toiled away, Devendran hastened the end as he also accounted for both Kukna Ajay Singh and Manav Suthar in quick succession.
''It was fruitful day for us," Pradosh told The New Indian Express on Monday. "As a team, we did better than what we did on Sunday. All our bowers bowled well today (Monday), in particular Sonu who gave the first break and Deepu in general. Deepu bowled with lot of fire and zest, despite it being his debut he was not nervous. He bowled wicket to wicket; he used the short ball to his advantage."
Post Sudharsan's early loss, Jagadeesan and Pradosh focused on building a partnership. During their stand, Jagadeesan also brought up his 4000th run in first-class cricket. ''We (Myself and Jags) managed to build a good partnership due to good understanding," Pradosh said. "We just complemented each other. We were just helping each other out. The plan was quite simple: to look for runs and respect the good balls whenever they came our way. Yes, it was quite simple as that,'' he revealed.
After Jagadeesan got out, immediately Pradosh too got out. Was it a ripple effect? 'No, not really. One ball came off the rough, and I didn't expect it to hit the stumps. That's how I got out. Indrajith too was unlucky to get out the last over of the day. For him (Indrajith) also, the ball came off the rough to be castled.
''The wicket was better today, there was a bit of help for spin. Tomorrow (Tuesday), there will be a lot more help for spin. So one needs to be watchful and apply themselves,'' he added.