Teenage batter C. Andre Siddarth missed out on a well-deserved century but his 98-run partnership with Vijay Shankar (76) ensured Tamil Nadu’s recovery from two early setbacks to post 299 for 7 against Assam on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘D’ match here on Wednesday.
After being sent in to bat by host captain Denish Das, the southern team lost openers S. Lokeshwar (8) and the in-form N. Jagadeesan (5) inside the first three overs. Vijay, who walked in at No. 3, went about rescuing the team with two crucial partnerships.
First, he added 66 runs for the third wicket with Pradosh Ranjan Paul (27) before his association with Andre (94, 163 balls, 9 fours, 1 six) pulled Tamil Nadu out of the woods.
Vijay, who started cautiously, came into his own and played some lovely shots in front of the wicket and hoisted spinner Rahul Singh for a six. He continued to bat in an enterprising manner despite losing Pradosh, who fell to medium-pacer Darshan Rajbangshi (2/75).
The Vijay-Andre stand saw the former cash in on any loose delivery while his 18-year-old partner took a while to hit form and played some handsome looking shots. Vijay fell against the run of play, castled by off-spinner Sarupam Purkayastha (2/33), who later added Andre’s scalp, trapping him leg-before wicket, six short of a ton.
The flamboyant M. Shahrukh Khan (28, 44 balls, 2 fours) added 60 for the fifth wicket to swell TN’s score before falling to Rahul Singh (2/56).
The Assam bowlers, the spinners in particular, kept the run-flow in check and also picked up the wickets of Shahrukh and captain R. Sai Kishore (3).
S. Mohamed Ali (27 batting) and R. Sonu Yadav (12 batting) made sure that TN didn’t suffer any further loss of wickets.
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