Rajkot: Saurashtra bowlers led by skipper Jaydev Unadkat dished out a clinical show to restrict Tamil Nadu to 250/7 in their last Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match here Wednesday.
While the result of the game would not affect Saurashtra, as they have qualified for the knockouts already, it would have a bearing on Tamil Nadu’s prospects as nothing short of a win would help the side.
For Tamil Nadu, the experienced Abhinav Mukund (86) and N Jagadeesan (61 not out) scored fifties. Jagadeesan’s knock ensured that the visitors reached the 250-run mark.
Tamil Nadu openers Mukund (86 off 112 balls) and L Suryaprakash (10) added 49 runs for the first wicket, before Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (1-72) removed the latter at the SCA Stadium in Khandheri.
One-down M Kaushik Gandhi (17) also failed to convert his start even as left-handed Mukund continued his good form and notched up his 50 in 67 balls.
However, Tamil Nadu slipped to 132/4 from 102/2, as Undakat (3-25) took two quick wickets. First the left-arm pacer trapped V Ganga Sridhar (13) in front of the wicket and then removed a well-set Mukund in a similar fashion to put Tamil Nadu in a spot of bother.
Then skipper Baba Aparajith (20) and wicketkeeper Jagadeesan tried to rally the Tamil Nadu innings with their 42-run stand for the fifth wicket.
But as the two were looking good, Chirag Jani (2-44) broke the stand sending Aparajith back to the pavilion. Tamil Nadu took tea at 181/5.
After tea, Unadkat took his third wicket, as Tamil Nadu were reeling at 181/6. Then Jagadeesan played a responsible knock and he first got able support from R Sai Kishore (27). Jagadeesan and M Mohammed (1) were at the crease when stumps were drawn.
Meanwhile, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Sarfaraz Khan and Aakarshit Gomel hammered hundreds to take Mumbai to a commanding 352/4 in an inconsequential game against Madhya Pradesh.
Gomel made his first-class debut. Both the teams are already out of the tournament.
For Mumbai, Sarfaraz (169 not out) and Gomel (122) steadied the ship with their 275-run stand after the top order failed once again. This season belonged to Sarfaraz, who has hit a triple hundred, double hundred and now a hundred.
In Bengaluru, Karnataka bowlers shot out Baroda for paltry 85 and then took the first innings lead.
Summarised scores:
In Rajkot: Tamil Nadu 250/7 (Abhinav Mukund 86; N Jagadeesan 61 not out; Jaydev Undakat 3-25 ) vs Saurashtra.
In Mumbai: Mumbai 352/4 (Sarfaraz Khan 169 not out, Aakarshit Gomel 122; Kuldeep Sen 3-67) vs Madhya Pradesh.
In Bengaluru: Baroda 85/10 (AA Pathan 45; K Gowtham 3/25, Abhimanyu Mithun 3/26) vs Karnataka 165/7 (Karun Nair 47; Soyeb Sopariya 3-40). Karnataka lead by 80 runs.
In Lucknow: Himachal Pradesh 220 (NR Gangta 49; Aaqib Khan 5/42, Ankit Rajpoot 3/57) vs Uttar Pradesh 23/1. UP trail by 197 runs.
PTI
