Ranji Trophy: Abhinav makes Delhi pay for lapses with 29th century

CHENNAI: Riding on the generosity of the Delhi fielders, Abhinav Mukund cracked an unbeaten 104 (11x4, 204b) and was ably supported by Baba Indrajith (86) to help Tamil Nadu post 215 for 3, on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B tie at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday.

When a game is just of academic interest, many players find it difficult to motivate themselves, but Abhinav and Indrajith played with a lot of intent and added 155 in 350 balls for the third wicket to set up a good platform for the hosts.

Abhinav, who has been playing first-class cricket for 12 years, put his experience to effective use, to notch up his 29th hundred and the third hundred of the season. He was sound in defence, picked the right balls to hit and showed a lot of patience.

“Abhinav played the waiting game to perfection. It is not easy to score runs on this wicket  freely. Initially, we were only getting 2.4 an over as they (Delhi attack) did not bowl that many loose balls. I also chipped in with an useful contribution,’’ said captain Indrajith.

Indrajith indicated that his team wants around 350, as the pitch was getting slower. “Despite this being a dead rubber we did not lose focus. From 40 for 2 our aim was a big partnership and we got that. In the morning the odd ball was spinning a bit and there was bounce. As the day progressed, the wicket got slower. It will be difficult for stroke play on Tuesday.”

The Tamil Nadu skipper had a word of praise for Delhi speedster Navdeep Saini. “Navdeep bowled at 140kms on this wicket and got the ball to reverse. Initially, left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra gave away runs, but Shivam Sharma and Lalit bowled well,’’ said Indrajith.

Delhi coach Mithun Manhas felt his bowlers could have done better. “It was a good wicket to bat on. We did not take our chances and that is why they are 215 for 3. I think our spinners bowled decently enough, giving away under three runs per over. But had we grabbed those chances, a few more wickets would ha­ve made things better. The Chepauk wicket from my playing days is known to get slower as the match progresses. Our spinners need to be more consistent. Abhinav is a Test class batsman and if you drop him, then he is definitely going to score runs. He has matured as a player,’’ said the former batsman with more than 9000 runs in FC cricket.Pradosh Ranjan Paul and  S Mohanprasath made debuts for Tamil Nadu.

Tripura all out for 35

Agartala: Rajasthan pacers wreaked havoc as they bundled out Tripura for a paltry 35 in their Elite Group C match on Monday. Left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary returned with figures of 5-11, while TM Haq picked up three wickets. Tripura skipper Smit Patel retired hurt for 2. In reply, Rajasthan made 218.