CHENNAI: Half-centuries by B Indrajith (66), Vijay Shankar (53) and Shahrukh Khan (50) enabled Tamil Nadu to post 324 in 142.4 overs against Saurashtra on the second day of the Ranji Trophy match played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Wednesday.In reply, Saurashtra were 92 for 3 in 35 overs at stumps.
Indrajith and Vijay used their feet well and played a watchful game, keeping in mind the nature of the surface.Saurashtra captain Ravindra Jadeja employed his medium pacers and spinners in batches to test the patience of both Indrajith and Vijay.
Jadeja chose to bowl after an hour or so in the morning. He was trying to get his rhythm and the drift to test the patience of the TN batters. During one such moment, Indrajith was induced to play a false stroke and the edge was caught by Prerak Mankad in the slips with Jadeja bagging his first and only wicket of the innings.
Jadeja bowled seven overs on the day, giving away 12 runs and taking Indrajith's wicket. Vijay, who notched up his fourth consecutive score of 50-plus in the tournament, felt that Jadeja bowled well.Tamil Nadu chief coach, M Venkataramana, who was the bowling coach at the National Cricket Academy of the BCCI, was also impressed by Jadeja's effort.
"Jadeja is slowly trying to get back his rhythm. Once you come after a big lay off due to injury and later rehab, one cannot bowl straight away flat out. Jadeja looked compact and was correctly pitching on areas that could produce a wicket. The more he bowls, he will get better,'' he said.Tamil Nadu's hard-hitting batter Shahrukh, who got out for a blob in the previous game against Assam, made sure that he did well this time with a 70-ball 50.
''All the batters Indrajith, Vijay and Shahrukh played well. Shahrukh's innings was a good effort for he could forget what happened in the last game, play positively and score some runs. This is what is required of a youngster. Keeping in mind the surface, happy with the score we put on the board,'' said Venkataramana.
Stand-in skipper of Tamil Nadu, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, was pleased with the way his bowlers bowled. He is keen to make in-roads on Thursday morning and then take it from there. ''Keeping in mind the slow surface, I am happy with the way our bowlers bowled. We will try to get as much purchase as possible on Thursday morning and then take it up from there. On this surface I am not sure whether one can go for an outright win,'' insisted Pradosh.
Ajith Ram, who was the Man of the Match against Assam in the last game, was introduced only after the 20th over. ''M Siddharth has given many breakthroughs in the past while opening the bowling. He is a different kind of bowler and we just wanted to try and get some early wickets. Ajith Ram seems to be improving with every game and is a vital player for us in the future,'' said Pradosh.