Following a quick single to mid-on in the 84th over of Tamil Nadu’s innings, B. Sai Sudharsan took his helmet off, flashed a gentle smile and raised his right thumb to celebrate his maiden double hundred in First Class cricket. It was a quintessentially understated reaction from a top-order batter who seems to know that he is destined for greater accolades in Indian cricket.
Sudharsan’s knock was the cornerstone of Tamil Nadu’s dominant batting show on day one of the Ranji Trophy clash against Delhi at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday. It wasn’t a chanceless innings though — a nick off Navdeep Saini went between wicketkeeper and slip when he was on 143, and he also had a no-ball reprieve on 77.
At stumps, Sudharsan was unbeaten on 202 as Tamil Nadu reached 379 for one in 88 overs. Washington Sundar was unbeaten on 96, having stitched together a second-wicket stand of 211 runs with more seemingly in store for the duo on Saturday.
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A tinge of green on the pitch on Friday morning perhaps nudged Delhi towards bowling first after winning the toss. Himanshu Chauhan and Saini did find a hint of lateral movement with the new ball, but barring a few plays and misses early on, Sudharsan and N. Jagadeesan looked untroubled during a 168-run opening partnership.
Delhi seemed to be a frontline pacer short going into the game, an impression that was exacerbated by Pranshu Vijayran, playing as the third seamer, trudging off the field two balls into his fifth over due to an ankle sprain.
Delhi’s only breakthrough of the day came from Saini in the 40th over, with Jagadeesan playing a back-of-a-length delivery onto his stumps. If the home side was sensing an opening, Washington, in his first Ranji game of the season, ensured it wouldn’t be the case with a well-crafted effort that left him just four runs shy of joining Sudharsan to the three-figure mark.
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