Chhattisgarh, playing an attritional brand of cricket, moved into the ascendancy by posting an imposing total of 500 in its first innings against Tamil Nadu on day two of their third-round Ranji Trophy match at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground on Sunday.
In reply, TN ended the day at 23 for one, losing opener S. Lokeshwar, who was trapped in front by off-spinner Jeevesh Butte.
Resuming at 293 for two, Chhattisgarh showed little urgency, managing only 66 for three in the 34-over morning session. Overnight batters Anuj Tiwary (84) and Sanjeet Desai (82) were watchful in the first hour, hitting a couple of boundaries each before falling in the 80s.
Anuj was the first to depart, dragging a delivery from medium-pacer Vijay Shankar onto his stumps while attempting a pull shot. Ajith Ram then trapped the in-form Amandeep Khare leg-before. Against the run of play, Desai tried to attack the left-arm spinner and holed out in the deep three overs before lunch.
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However, K.D. Eknath (52) and Ajay Mandal (64) ensured the visitor tightened its grip on the game by stitching a 91-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
Eknath scored a steady half-century, playing some fine cuts and sweeps against the spinners. Mandal was the aggressor, taking on the spinners and reached his landmark in style by lofting left-arm spinner M. Siddharth for two sixes.
For the host, Ajith Ram (four for 132) was once again impressive on a docile pitch, offering little help to the bowlers. The 26-year-old delivered a marathon spell of 21-5-39-2 across the first two sessions. He bowled with guile, varying his pace and showed good control over length to keep the batters in check.
While the pitch remains good for batting, there were signs of the odd ball turning sharply in the final hour of play, and the home team’s batters have a huge task on their hands in the remaining two days to stay alive in this contest.
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