CHENNAI: Pradosh Ranjan Paul’s unbeaten ton (138 batting), along with fifties from N Jagadeesan (52) and B Indrajith (51) put Tamil Nadu in command against Chandigarh with a score of 320/4 at stumps on Day 1 of a Ranji Trophy Elite Group D tie on Monday. This was Pradosh's 10th First Class century and it came at the right time for him and the team. In TN’s win against Railways last week, Pradosh failed to make an impact. But against Chandigarh at the Sector 16 Stadium, he played an innings with great character and purpose.
Coming in from number three, he played to his strength, displaying solid foot work and was precise in his shot selection. The wicket was green and had something for the pacers in the morning, but Pradosh put his experience to good use and scored his second century of the season."Glad and delighted to get a century. I am happy all the more because it served the team's cause." an elated Pradosh told this daily. "It was important that we get back to how we generally pace our innings and I am glad that Jagadeesan and Indrajth too made useful contributions for the team," he added.Opting to bat, Tamil Nadu had a poor start as they lost Vimal Khumar early. The talented opener, who is under immense pressure to put runs on the board, had a nervous start. After negating a flurry of LBW appeals in the first few balls, he failed to read a sharp one from medium pacer Nikhil Sharma and was caught in the slips by Arjit Pannu.Thereafter, Jagadeesan and Pradosh kept the scoreboard ticking. Jagadeesan was fluent in the duo and was at his attacking self. However, when he was set for a big knock, he fell to the guile of left-arm spinner Bhagmender Lather, to be castled just before lunch.
B Indrajith joined Pradosh and the duo were playing confidently and complimenting each other. After reaching his fifty, in a momentary lapse of concentration Indrajith was caught and bowled by Nishunk Birla.This was Indrajith's 30th half-century for Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy and he surpassed S Sharath's previous record of 29 half-centuries.By then, Pradosh and Indrajith had added 139 runs in 36.1 overs for the third wicket. "I did not make any major adjustments to my game. I just tried to play closer to my body, played more along the ground, and played more through the square. That's the mental adjustment I made, and I'll remain confident in my approach." Pradosh explained about the adjustments he made ahead of this game.He cleared the air regarding the shuffle in batting order from the match against Railways as it was made considering how the wicket behaved in Chepauk. “The wicket was more suitable for right-handers in the last game. So, it was a team call. I'm also flexible and can play anywhere the team wants me to. It doesn't bother me whether I'm batting at number six, number seven, number five, number four, or number three," the southpaw said. The 25-year old values the partnerships with both Jagadeesan and Indrajith. "Both the partnerships were vital. Considering the stage of the game, they were very important. As part of the top four, we have to deliver regardless of what kind of wicket we're playing on. It's always the top four who need to step up and give the team a good start. So yes, those partnerships were definitely vital," said Pradosh.The pitch, with a green top, favoured the Chandigarh bowlers. "Initially, there was some lateral movement off the pitch. For left-handers, there was also a rough patch created by the left-arm spinners. So, scoring against the left-arm spinners was a little more difficult for left-handers because there was a rough patch, and the soil was also a little loose. That was helping the left-arm spinners when bowling to left-handers. So, that was the only challenging aspect of the wicket," he said.
And when he and G Ajitesh return to the middle on Tuesday, Pradosh hopes to keep going. “We have good depth in our batting lineup, so we expect more runs from the team. If you look at the batting order in our team, there is potential for it. But we're not thinking too far ahead. We just want to take it one ball at a time," he signed off.
