Pradosh, Indrajith hit fighting hundreds

CHENNAI: Pradosh Ranjan Paul and skipper Baba Indrajith stepped up to the plate with fighting centuries in the second innings against Mumbai as Tamil Nadu kept its faint hopes of securing an outright victory alive on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Group B match in Mumbai on Thursday.

Courtesy of fine hundreds from Pradosh (107 batting off 181 balls, 10 fours, 1 six) and Indrajith (103 off 159 balls, 7 fours), Tamil Nadu, which began the day at 62 for one, stood strong at 380 for four at stumps, earning a slender 43-run lead.

Opening batter B Sai Sudharsan (68 off 116 balls, 6 fours) and Vijay Shankar (43 batting off 67 balls, 6 fours), who was unbeaten along with Pradosh at close of play, also helped the southern team dominate the penultimate day’s play.

Tamil Nadu ruled from start to finish, with each partnership built on the day worth a minimum of 50 overs. Sai Sudharsan first added 69 runs with Baba Aparajith (22) for the second wicket and then put on 50 runs with Baba Indrajith for the third wicket.

The most crucial alliance for the visitor involved Indrajith and Pradosh, who contributed 75 and 52 runs respectively to their 131-run stand for the fourth wicket. Indrajith struck most of his boundaries in between square-leg and mid-wicket, but fell prey to left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (1/100) just after completing his century.

However, Tamil Nadu continued to pile on the runs as Pradosh and Vijay Shankar shared 99 runs off just 119 balls for the unbroken fifth wicket. In the final session of the day, Pradosh, who had notched up his maiden Ranji ton against Delhi in the previous match, brought up his second hundred, a well deserved one. He smashed boundaries all over the park, with his only maximum coming straight down the ground.

On the final day, Tamil Nadu will look to accumulate as many runs as possible at a quick pace to give itself an outside chance of bowling Mumbai out in the second innings.

BRIEF SCORES: Tamil Nadu 144 & 380/4 in 105 overs (Pradosh Ranjan Paul 107*, Baba Indrajith 103, B Sai Sudharsan 68, Vijay Shankar 43*) vs Mumbai 481; Delhi 133 and 227 in 63.5 overs (Hrithik Shokeen 51, Ayush Badoni 40, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya 5/91) lost to Saurashtra 574/8 decl. in 147.2 overs (Arpit Vasavada 152*, Harvik Desai 107, Chirag Jani 75, Jaydev Unadkat 70, Prerak Mankad 64, Samarth Vyas 54, Hrithik Shokeen 4/244)