CHENNAI: After restricting Gujarat to a moderate total, Tamil Nadu bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji had cautioned that there would be something in the wicket on Saturday and the batters would have to apply themselves to give a good start. However, that was not to be as the Tamil Nadu top-order caved in to some spirited display by the Gujarat seamers.
At one point, they were reeling at 71/5. From thereon, Vijay Shankar (33), the last recognized batter for the visitors, too perished and Tamil Nadu were in dire straits at 93/6. At this stage nobody would have put their money on Tamil Nadu to stage a comeback, but M Mohammed (85) with sheer determination, grit and positive mindset helped Tamil Nadu to bag a lead of 14 runs over Gujarat on the second day of the Ranji Trophy played at Valsad on Saturday. Gujarat were in a spot of bother in their second essay at 38/3 in 13 overs when stumps were drawn. Tamil Nadu openers B Sai Sudharsan and B Sachin perished quickly without troubling the scorers.
With the ball still new and the wicket still having some purchase for the seamers, Tamil Nadu middle-order caved in to some disciplined bowling by the home team. Gujarat right-left combo of Chintan Gaja and Arzan Nagwaswalla troubled the Tamil Nadu batters with the bounce and carry. “We wanted to get a good score in reply today. In the morning there was something still in the wicket and we lost a few wickets. Most of our batters got out to good deliveries. When Pradosh Ranjan Paul and Vijay Shankar were there, we expected a big stand, but that was not to be,” explained Mohammed after the day’s play.
However, Mohammed did not give up, and in the company of Sandeep Warrier, stitched a stand worth 116 runs for the ninth wicket which eventually helped Tamil Nadu bag the all-important lead. “I knew the situation was bad, but I approached it with a positive mindset. I did not get an opportunity to play last season for Tamil Nadu. So I was determined to give my best and help the team. I played to the merit of the ball and did not hesitate to punish the loose deliveries,” said Mohammed. “I kept talking to Sandeep and we decided to bat as long as possible. Sandeep played brilliantly and thanks to his stand we could take the lead,” he added.
Mohammed missed an excellent opportunity to score a hundred and he will have a big role to play with the ball in Gujarat’s second innings. “We bowled well in the Gujarat second innings to get three wickets before close of play. On Sunday morning we need to bowl wickets and use the conditions. I think we get them all out for around 170. This wicket is a result (outright win) oriented wicket,” signed off Mohammed.
Select scores
Jharkhand 142 vs Saurashtra 406/4 in 119 ovs ( Pujara 157 batting, Vasavada 68); Punjab 152 in 46.5 ovs vs Karnataka 461/6 in 123 ovs (Padikkal 193, Manish 118, Sharath 55 batting); Gujarat 236 & 38/3 in 13 ovs (Warrier 3/5) vs Tamil Nadu 250 in 67.5 ovs(M Mohammed 85, Warrier 38; Bishnoi 4/73); Delhi 148 in 62.5 ovs (Tyagi 34, Gaurav 7/49) vs Pondicherry 113/2 in 29 ovs (Paras Ratnaparkhe 31 batting, Ishant 1/28); Bengal 409 in 126.2 ovs (Anustup 125, Porel 70) vs Andhra 119/3 in 48.1 ovs (Prashanth Kumar 41, Vihari 6 batting); Hyderabad 474/5 in 76.4 ovs (Tilak 100 n.o, Rahul 241)bt Nagaland 153 in 51.3 ovs (Jaganathsinivas 49, Tanay 5/43) & 127 in 34.5 ovs (Sumit Kumar 62, Milind 4/21); Uttar Pradesh 302 in 83.4 ovs (Rinku 92; Nidheesh MD 3/68) vs Kerala 220/6 in 65 ovs (Vishnu Vinod 74, Kuldeep 3/66).