Shahrukh Khan, Baba Indrajith help Tamil Nadu take lead

Shahrukh Khan showed his wares in red-ball cricket with a magnificent 148-ball 194 while Baba Indrajith also struck a century on the third day as Tamil Nadu earned a 42-run first-innings lead against Delhi in the Elite Group H fixture at the ACA Stadium.

Coming in to bat at No.7 with Tamil Nadu in trouble, Shahrukh, on Saturday, soaked up the pressure as he fell just six runs short of a maiden first-class double hundred. His first ton in the format was studded with as many as 20 fours and 10 sixes.

Shahrukh stitched century partnerships with No.5 Indrajith (117 off 149 balls, 17 fours, 2 sixes) and wicketkeeper-batter Narayan Jagadeesan (50 off 71 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) to help Tamil Nadu put 494 runs on the board. 

On a day that belonged to Shahrukh, who was bought by Punjab Kings for a whopping Rs 9 crore at the Indian Premier League mega auction in Bengaluru last week, left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra emerged as Delhi’s most successful bowler with figures of 6/108.

Delhi skipper and seasoned left-arm pacer Pradeep Sangwan was smashed for 107 runs in his 21 overs while his fast-bowling colleague Kuldip Yadav conceded 105 runs of 18 overs. 

The runs came at a brisk pace due to the positive intent shown by Indrajith and Shahrukh, who put on 134 runs for the sixth wicket after Tamil Nadu lost half its team for 162. 

Shahrukh then shared a 178-run alliance with Jagadeesan, who played perfect second fiddle to his hard-hitting partner.

The former brought up his deserved century in 89 deliveries and continued in the same vein to not only rescue his team from a difficult position but also secure at least three points (for the lead). 

Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu opener Kaushik Gandhi (55 off 135 balls, 8 fours) scored a patient half-century.