CHENNAI: Intent, planning, execution. Tamil Nadu rode on these on Thursday as they bowled out Bengal for 189 in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match. From Baba Aparajith hitting his first century of the season to Rahil Shah picking up a five-wicket haul and M Mohammed taking his third four-for in four games, the day belonged to the home team.
After posting 263 in the first innings, Tamil Nadu wasted no time in putting Bengal under pressure. Mohammed ripped through the top-order to scalp three in his first three overs. His victims included in-form skipper Manoj Tiwary, who was caught at short mid-wicket. The 26-year-old was at his best in the first spell which read 4-2-2-3. Thanks to this burst which was complemented by Shah later on, Tamil Nadu took a lead of 74 before reaching 12 for one at stumps on Day Two.
The dry MA Chidambaram pitch was expected to assist spinners. For the second day running, it had something for the pacers too. With reverse swing coming in to play earlier than expected, Mohammed capitalised on what the pitch offered.“Removing three batsmen early put us in a comfortable position,” said Mohammed. “We didn’t have a clear picture of how the pitch would behave. We thought it will assist spinners. The cracks have started to open up. When I and Natarajan began, the wicket was holding a bit. The ball was still hard. There was reverse swing too.”
Although the ball didn’t behave awkwardly, the pitch was not an easy one to bat on. The ball was not really coming onto the bat and playing strokes was never easy. Having gained an advantage early on, Tamil Nadu did well to tighten the screws in the second and third sessions. Whenever Bengal looked like getting a partnership going, the home team struck. Other than opener Abhishek Raman (98), no Bengal batsman crossed 20.
If Mohammed was the one who initiated Bengal’s downfall, Shah took over in the second session. Replacing fellow left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore, he kept one end tight and took the two wickets to fall in the post-lunch period. Considering both victims — Anustup Majumdar and Writtick Chatterjee — had settled down, these were crucial blows. On most days this season, Tamil Nadu have had a good third session and that was the case again. Mohammed struck in his second over of the final session by pulling off a stunner to remove Shreevats Goswami.
Then on, it was Raman versus Tamil Nadu with Shah completing a fifth five-wicket haul in the end.“In two days, 21 wickets have fallen. This pitch will produce a result. If we can bat through the day tomorrow and give them a target around 280-290, we can win this match,” said Mohammed.
Elite Group A
In Mysuru: Maharashtra 113 & 48/3 vs Karnataka 186 (Bachhav 3/43).
Elite Group B
In Hyderabad: Himachal Pradesh 351 (Dagar 61; Ravi Kiran 3/86, Thyagarajan 4/86) vs Hyderabad 146/1 (Akshath 86 n.o).
In T’puram: Kerala 63 & 38/4 vs Madhya Pradesh 328 (Patidar 73, Ojha 79, Yash 79; Jalaj 4/120).
In Chennai: Tamil Nadu 263 (Aparajith 103) & 12/1 vs Bengal 189 (Raman 98; Mohammed 4/39, Rahil 5/46).
Elite Group C
In Cuttack: Tripura 122 & 130/5 (Rajesh 3/42) vs Odisha 211 (Samantray 88; Murasingh 3/37, Sarkar 3/33).
Plate Group
In Puducherry: Mizoram 92 vs Puducherry 163/3 (Day 2 washed out).