Ranji Trophy: TN's Pradosh Ranjan Paul piles up pressure on Delhi

CHENNAI :  The Tamil Nadu senior selection committee’s faith in youth has paid dividends. Debutant Pradosh Ranjan Paul (78) and Shakhrukh Khan (55) notched up half-centuries to help the team post 432 against Delhi on Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy tie at MAC Stadium on Tuesday. In reply, Delhi were 35 for two. With the ball turning square towards the end of the day and spinners Sai Kishore and Mohan Prasath to contend with, Delhi’s task is uphill.

Pradosh was initially a bit rusty, but after gaining confidence he used his feet well. He showed a sound defence and sense of timing. His short frame, slightly high back-lift and attacking instincts reminded one of Hemang Badani. “It was a good effort from Pradosh. I would have been happier had he gone on to score a hundred. What was important was he adapted to the firstclass level, which is a positive sign,’’ said selection committee chairman S Sharath. Pradosh was greeted with a bouncer by Navdeep Saini, but he was not rattled. He scored freely against the spinners.

He played with a lot of understanding with Shahrukh and the duo added 82 for the sixth wicket. “Since it was my debut, I was a bit apprehensive, but not nervous as such. I played my natural game. Both Saini and Suboth Bhati bowled quick, but I had no problems as I have played quality bowling in the league and at the U-19 level,” said Pradosh. Shahrukh showed that he could score runs with the tail. “During our partnership, Pradosh initially dominated. He played brilliantly.

Later with Sai Kishore, I was confident that we would get past the 400- run mark,’’ he said. Pradosh credited his success to help from Abhinav Mukund and Shahrukh. “Abhinav told me to enjoy my game. Shahrukh goaded me to play my natural game. Playing spinners comes naturally to me, in particular left-arm spinners,’’ said Pradosh.

His knock ended when he shuffled across the stumps to be trapped by Vikas Mishra. “He is a good player to watch, with a lot of flair. Against the fast bowlers he needs to improve his footwork, backfoot play in particular,” observed Delhi coach Mithun Manhas. Mishra was the pick of Delhi’s Bowlers. Although expensive (142 runs), he picked up five wickets.

Delhi were in trouble soon after the start of their innings. Shivam Sharma was trapped by Sai Kishore and later Kunal Chandela ran himself out off his own call, failing to beat a direct throw from Vijay Shankar. “Kunal got out at the wrong time. The wicket is helping spin and our batsmen need to focus and bat well on Wednesday,’’ said Manhas. In Chennai: TN 432 (Paul 78, Shahrukh 55; Mishra 5/142, Sharma 4/105) vs Delhi 35/2.