Day Two of the Group 'C' Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu at the Mumbai Cricket Association's BKC ground yesterday belonged to the visitors
Day Two of the Group 'C' Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu at the Mumbai Cricket Association's BKC ground yesterday belonged to the visitors. In response to Mumbai's 374 all out in the first innings, TN fought back hard through vice-captain Baba Indrajith (105 not out) and young all-rounder Washington Sundar (69) stitching a 157-run partnership for the fifth wicket after TN lost their first three wickets for just 34. Skipper Abhinav Mukund scored nine while his opening partner Murali Vijay departed after scoring 11. The visitors finished the day at 239 for five.
Earlier, resuming on their overnight score of 314 for seven, Mumbai added 60 to their total with Akash Parkar (33 not out) and Aditya S Dhumal (13) compiling a vital 35-run stand for the 10th wicket. For TN, Vijay Shankar was the pick of the bowlers with four for 52, while off-spinner R Ashwin ended with figures of three for 78.
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Tamil Nadu's Baba Indrajith (right) and Washington Sundar take a run on Day Two of their Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai at MCA's BKCâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088ground yesterday. Pic/Sameer Markande
Indrajith's sound batting
TN's reply was firmly helmed by the technically sound Indrajith who came out to bat after Kaushik Gandhi (6) was sent packing by Abhishek Nayar off the very first delivery after the lunch break. The wily batsman took time to settle down scoring 40 in 86 balls with two hits to the fence till tea. However, in the last session, Indrajith accelerated his scoring and smashed another 10 boundaries en route his sixth first-class century. In contrast to Indrajith's knock, his companion, Sundar began his innings with a quick 44-ball 31 till tea. The young left-hander slowed down his scoring further, but he reached his fifty with a boundary off pacer Parkar.
'Playing the ball on merit'
Talking about his partnership with Indrajith, Sundar said: "We just wanted to play to the merit of the ball. We kept getting runs, so the pressure was slowly easing out. I thought we communicated and ran very well," said Sundar. "On a ground like this, you'll definitely get a lot of boundaries, but it's very important to play your normal game. Runs are going to come, you only need to play for a long time," he added.
After Mumbai bowlers Parkar and left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil got rid of TN's opening pair, they failed to capitalise on the brilliant start. Skipper Aditya Tare admitted that his bowlers didn't bowl well after lunch. "From 69 for four, we should have controlled the game better. The game actually drifted away from us. Credit to Indrajith and Sundar for the way they batted. It was a good partnership. We did not bowl well after lunch," Tare said.
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