Ranji Trophy 2022-23: Andhra 277/5 against Tamil Nadu at stumps on day one

Tamil Nadu strove hard and kept its spirits up but could not create enough stress to restrict Andhra which progressed to 277 for five on day one of the Elite `B’ Ranji Trophy match.

FILE PHOTO: Andhra batter Abhishek Reddy. | Photo Credit: K. Bhagya Prakash/The Hindu

The incision or the cutting edge was missing. And pressure could not be maintained from both ends. 

Tamil Nadu strove hard and kept its spirits up but could not create enough stress to restrict Andhra which progressed to 277 for five on day one of the Elite `B’ Ranji Trophy match.   

Tamil Nadu struck at the fag end of Tuesday at the Ramakrishna ground when left-arm spinner Sai Kishore lured Ricky Bhui (68, 110b, 9x4, 1x6) to have the batter stumped.   

Bhui and Karan Shinde (55 batting,114b, 7x4, 1x6) fought hard, putting together 119 in 209 balls for the fifth wicket. 

Bhui is a fine striker who has matured with years adding stability to his array of strokes. The left-handed Shinde struck the ball crisply, square-driving and straight-driving with panache.  

Key man Hanuma Vihari had just departed and the Tamil Nadu fielders and bowlers were full of beans but they ran into the Bhui-Shinde roadblock.

After Andhra opted to bat, opener U.M.S. Girinath succumbed to a Sai Kishore delivery of some bounce that held its line. 

PODCAST | Veteran journalist Vijay Lokapally speaks to key figures in cricketing history about their journey in the game, anecdotes from their careers, their ambitions and much more.

Tamil Nadu could not make further inroads on a surface where deviation for pacemen was limited. Andhra strung together a partnership, the enterprising Abhishek Reddy and a determined Sheikh Rasheed defying the host.

Abhishek, an organised player with an attacking mindset, was severe in the area between mid-wicket and fine-leg, and hit Sai Kishore for two straight sixes. 

Debutant left-arm spinner Ajith Ram ended the 95-run (190b) second wicket association when he castled Rasheed (37), the batter yorking himself. 

It was good captaincy by Indrajith when he brought back Sandeep Warrier, who snapped up Abhishek, the batter fending at the delivery.  

However, Abhishek’s 85 (129b, 8x4, 2x6) was a fine innings.

Much of Andhra’s batting revolved around Vihari but he departed soon, pulling seamer Vijay Shankar and the ball bouncing off short-leg’s shoulder to square-leg where Ajith Ram took a fine catch.. 

But then, Tamil Nadu could not run through the innings.