Aparajith, Shahrukh and bowlers shine

After B. Aparajith (166, 267b, 15×4, 4×6) and M. Shahrukh Khan (69, 105b, 8×4, 2×6) dominated proceedings in the morning session with quick runs, spinners R. Sai Kishore (2/20) and M. Siddharth (2/35) put Tamil Nadu in a strong position at the end of day two of the Ranji Trophy match against Chhattisgarh here at the Nehru Stadium on Friday.

Resuming at 308 for four, TN declared after posting a huge total of 470 for nine before reducing its opponent to 105 for five.

Rain delay

Earlier, overnight showers meant the day’s play started one hour late but once on the field Aparajith and Shahrukh went about the business of building a big first-innings total with ease.

Aparajith, who was batting on 101, found his rhythm immediately with three quick boundaries, including two consecutive ones off pacer Veer Pratap Singh through the on-side.

The all-rounder was in full flow taking on the spinners and lofting a few sixes as TN added 109 runs in just 20 overs in the first session. He got to his 150 after lunch and was dismissed trying to accelerate the scoring.

At the other end, Shahrukh started off with a pull to fine-leg and then essayed an upper-cut off Ravi Kiran. He then slammed Veer Pratap through covers and straight down the ground before pulling Kiran again to get to his half-century.

Poor start

Chhattisgarh’s innings got off to a poor start when Siddharth, who opened the bowling with Sandeep Warrier, struck in his second over to remove opener Sanidhya Hurkat, trapped leg before with a quick delivery.

Soon, Sai Kishore joined the party as he dismissed the other opener Akhil Herwadkar leg-before off his second ball. Just before tea, Mohammed had Ashutosh Singh caught at covers to reduce Chhattisgarh to 40 for three.

In the last session, skipper Harpreet Singh Bhatia (47 batting) and Amandeep Khare steadied the ship with a 58-run stand for the fourth wicket.

But after the final drinks break of the day, Sai Kishore had Khare caught at slip with a delivery that spun and Siddharth quickly sent back Sumit Ruikar to put TN in the driving seat.

The scores:

Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: M. Kaushik Gandhi run out 27, L. Suryapprakash c Bhatia b Mandal 21, B. Aparajith c Bhatia b Ruikar 166, B. Indrajith b Mandal 127, Vijay Shankar c Ashutosh b Ruikar 0, M. Shahrukh Khan b Ruikar 69, N. Jagadeesan run out 0, R. Sai Kishore lbw b Mandal 19, M. Mohammed b Ruikar 18, M. Siddharth (not out) 6; Extras (b-12, lb-3, nb-2): 17; Total (for nine wkts. decl. in 118 overs): 470.

Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-59, 3-265, 4-266, 5-391, 6-391, 7-433, 8-451, 9-470.

Chhattisgarh bowling: Kiran 15-1-58-0, Veer Pratap 15-3-52-0, Ruikar 42-3-168-4, Mandal 37-5-132-3, Shashank 8-3-31-0, Ashutosh 1-0-14-0.

Chhattisgarh — 1st innings: Akhil Herwadkar lbw b Sai Kishore 11, Sanidhya Hurkat lbw b Siddharth 6, Ashutosh Singh c Kaushik b Mohammed 9, Harpreet Singh Bhatia batting 47, Amandeep Khare c Indrajith b Sai Kishore 23, Sumit Ruikar lbw b Siddharth 0, Shashank Singh (batting) 0; Extras (b-9): 9; Total (for five wkts. in 47.4 overs): 105.

Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-24, 3-40, 4-98, 5-99.

Tamil Nadu bowling: Warrier 5-2-10-0, Siddharth 15-5-35-2, Sai Kishore 14.4-7-20-2, Mohammed 4-3-5-1, Aparajith 6-1-17-0, Vijay Shankar 3-1-9-0.