CHENNAI: It was a mixed day for Tamil Nadu as they let Railways recover from 82/7 to post 184 on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy match here in Chennai. In reply, they were 71/3 at stumps on Monday. Tamil Nadu trail by 113 runs. Zubair Khan, who made 75, was the best batter for Railways as he notched up his fourth first-class fifty.
Initially, things went as per plan for Tamil Nadu as they made best use of the overcast conditions to put Railways in a spot of bother at 18/4 with Sonu Yadav picking the first three wickets after opting to bowl. Sonu bowled wicket-to-wicket and with subtle movement tested the technique of the Railways batters. First, he induced an edge off Sahab Yuvaraj before B Indrajith took the catch in the slips. Then, he hurled a quicker one to trap Mohammed Saif on the pads. Soon, Sai Kishore brought himself into the attack and struck in his very first over, reducing Railways to 18/4.
While TN bowlers kept pegging away with wickets in regular intervals, the last wicket pair of Zubair and Himanshu Sangwan added 61 runs in 12.1 overs to frustrate the hosts.
Zubair put the long handle to effective use. He struck Sonu Yadav for two fours and a huge six in a single over as he crossed his fifty. "Our plan was to get off to a good start with the bat, but unfortunately, we lost wickets quickly, and some of our batters gave their wickets away through their own mistakes. But my plan was to stay at the crease and not make mistakes myself. If a good ball gets you out, that's understandable, but we shouldn't get out by making our own mistakes. We tried to execute that plan, and it worked to some extent,'' Zubair said after the day's play.
"Until then (the Sonu Yadav over), I had been playing cautiously, taking singles and rotating the strike. Then, I got an opportunity to score some runs. Towards the end, I was in a position where I could play freely and contribute some runs to my team. That gave me a lot of confidence," he added.
Coming in to bat after tea, Tamil Nadu had a disastrous start as they lost Vimal Khumar early. N Jagadeesan and Pradosh Ranjan Paul played to the merit of the ball. But a momentary lapse of concentration meant Jagadeesan was castled. Soon Pradosh too fell leaving TN in a spot of bother. Sonu Yadav admitted that it was a mixed day for the hosts. "The pitch was definitely a little damp, which is why we chose to bowl after winning the toss. We wanted to take advantage of those conditions, and they actually worked in our favour. After lunch, the pitch started drying out a little and became better for batting. As the game progresses, it might become even better, or it might start turning a little more, like it did in the last match," said Sonu Yadav. "Zubair actually batted superbly. He played the right balls and hit them well. The team's (Railways) total was largely because of him," added the all-rounder.
Despite the frustrating lower-order stand, Sonu said that the morale in the dressing room is high. "Sometimes, partnerships develop, and that's part of the game. The captain's message at those times is to stay patient, stick to our plans, and keep going. Eventually, we will get the wickets. "The spinners got good assistance today. I think the pitch will offer more assistance to the spinners as the match progresses. There was already some help for them in the morning. As the pitch wears, it might provide even better assistance to the spinners. But we have to bat properly against them. If we play as well as we did in the last match, it should be easier,'' he signed off.
Brief scores: Railways 184 in 53.3 ovs (Zubair 75; Sonu 3/46, Sai 3/53, Hemchudeshan 2/20) vs Tamil Nadu 71/3 in 25 ovs (Jagadeesan 30; Toufik 2/15).
