Ranji: Chhattisgarh skipper Harpreethits fighting hundred against TN

Chhattisgarh skipper Harpreet Singh Bhatia struck a fighting hundred on a truncated third day to frustrate Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group H fixture at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Guwahati.

The left-handed Harpreet, who began on his overnight score of 47, remained unconquered on 149 (322 balls, 12 fours, 2 sixes) along with No.10 Veer Pratap Singh (3 batting off 79 balls) at stumps on Saturday. At close of play, Chhattisgarh was 261 for eight off 114 overs in the first essay, still trailing by 209 runs.

Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore (4/48) picked two of the three wickets that fell on the day, whose morning session could not be played due to wet outfield. The lost period could come back to haunt Tamil Nadu, which is eyeing its maiden outright win.

Returning to action after an early lunch interval, Tamil Nadu removed Shashank Singh (2) via Sai Kishore to begin on a strong note. But, Harpreet and fellow southpaw Ajay Mandal (35 off 80 balls, 5 fours) came up with an 83-run partnership for the seventh wicket, which brought down the morale of Vijay Shankar and Co.

While Harpreet batted with positive intent, Mandal was cautious in his approach while striking the odd boundaries. Off-spinner Baba Aparajith (1/54) provided the much-needed breakthrough for Tamil Nadu by dismissing Mandal, who was caught behind by Narayan Jagadeesan. S Hussain failed to disturb the scorecard and fell prey to Sai Kishore as the southern team bagged three wickets in the post-lunch session.

Meanwhile, Harpreet completed his deserved ton with a boundary off Aparajith, waging a battle with the bat. The final session belonged to Chhattisgarh since Harpreet and Veer Pratap shared 53 runs off 206 deliveries for the unbroken ninth wicket. Skipper Vijay Shankar and Tamil Nadu did everything they could, but failed to come up with a solution.