Ranji Trophy: Andre, Vijay shine bright for TN against Assam

CHENNAI: Andre Siddarth (96) and Vijay Shankar (76) helped Tamil Nadu post 299 runs against Assam on the opening day of Group D Ranji Trophy clash at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Tamil Nadu were off to a rocky start when they were put to bat as both its openers returned to the pavilion with single-digit scores.

Lokeshwar’s (8) poor form continued as this was his third consecutive time getting out without crossing the double figures, thereby failing to give the team a good start.

N Jagadeesan, who was relieved from skipper duty, got out for five runs as Mukhtar Hussain dismissed him to keep the away team reeling at 13 for 2 in the first hour’s play.

But the experienced Pradosh Ranjan Paul and Vijay played a counter-attacking half-century stand and were playing over four an over before Pradosh (27) got out.

Even after losing three wickets early inside the first session, Vijay’s bold fifty lifted Tamil Nadu to 130 for 3 at lunch.

But post-lunch, he got out immediately, but that didn’t affect the scoreboard as youngster Andre, continuing his good form in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, took over and played a quality knock to help the team move forward, but agonisingly fell short of just six runs to notch a maiden first-class ton.

However, the big news came when the line-up was announced at the toss with Tamil Nadu bringing in 16-year-old pacer Pranav Ragavendra to the playing eleven to pair up alongside Gurjapneet Singh.

Pranav, who hails from Vellore, became the third-youngest player to debut for Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy. He recently featured in the U-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy for Tamil Nadu.

Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 299/7 in 85 overs (Andre Siddarth 94, Vijay Shankar 76) vs Assam