Sai Kishore, Indrajith, Kumar hand Tamil Nadu lead vs Saurashtra

COIMBATORE: Skipper R Sai Kishore led by example before Baba Indrajith and Boopathi Kumar struck useful half-centuries to hand Tamil Nadu advantage in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Saurasthra here on Saturday.

Thanks to their efforts, Tamil Nadu reached 300 for six at stumps on the second day of the match, giving them a lead of 117 runs with four first-innings wickets in hand.

Resuming the day at 23 for one, night-watchman Sai Kishore (60) and opener Narayan Jagadeesan (37) managed to put on a 54-run partnership for the second wicket before Parth Bhut trapped the latter leg-before with the team score reading 63.

The hosts were in a spot of bother at 85 for three when Pradosh Ranjan Paul (13) fell to Parth Bhut, but Sai Kishore and Indrajith (80) added 49 runs for the fourth wicket to steady the ship.

Sai Kishore, who grabbed five wickets in Saurashtra’s first innings, brought up his third first-class half-century before being dismissed by Jaydev Unadkat.

Boopathi Kumar (65), along with Indrajith, then stitched an impressive 119-run stand for the fifth wicket to put their team in control.

Indrajith was looking good for what would have been his 17th first-class hundred but Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, the visitors’ highest wicket-taker of the season, got rid of the seasoned TN batter, with the team score reading 253 for five.

For the addition 14 runs, Boopathi was cleaned up by Yuvrajsinh Dodiya.

Vijay Shankar (14 batting) and Mohamed Ali (17 batting) saw the day out as Tamil Nadu finished the day with their nose well ahead.

For Saurashtra, it has been a collective effort from their bowling unit with all five bowlers finding themselves among wickets.

Brief scores: Saurashtra 183 trail Tamil Nadu 300-6 (Baba Indrajith 80; Parth Bhut 2/76) by 117 runs.