Young left-handed wicket-keeper batsman Pradosh Ranjan Paul hit a maiden first-class century as Tamil Nadu took a first-innings lead on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match against Delhi here on Thursday and now look for a win. Pradosh (124) scored a career-best century, apart from all-rounder Vijay Shankar (52) and tail-ender Ashwin Christ (32), Tamil Nadu declared their first innings at 427 for eight. Delhi scored 303 runs in the first innings, giving Tamil Nadu a 124-run lead.
In response, Delhi scored 28 runs for one wicket after losing the wicket of Anuj Rawat (14) in the second innings till the end of the day’s play. The Delhi team is still behind by 96 runs. Due to bad light, only 76, 75.1 and 70 overs could be played on the first three days. Pradosh hit 16 fours in his 212-ball innings. He shared 103 for the sixth wicket with veteran Vijay Shankar and 88 for the eighth wicket with Ashwin. Delhi’s inexperienced bowling attack once again failed to bowl with discipline. Delhi’s most senior bowler left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra disappointed badly in this match.
He was able to get only one wicket for 111 runs. Pradosh made good use of his moves against both Mishra and off-spinner Lalit Yadav (1/50). Pacer Harshit Rana (3/121) and left-arm seamer Kuldeep Yadav (1/92) also disappointed during the third day’s play. Referring to the first first-class century, Pradosh said, “It is a special moment for me because I made my debut four years ago. I didn’t get to play more matches. I had hoped that I would score a hundred early but I am very happy.
Saurashtra team is just two wickets away from victory against Mumbai in Mumbai. Lower-order batsman Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (90) scored a massive 220 in the second innings to give Saurashtra a target of 280 for Mumbai. In reply, Mumbai were in trouble at 218 for eight despite a half-century from opener Prithvi Shaw (68) and an 83-run partnership for the second wicket with Suryakumar Yadav (38). Mumbai need 62 runs to win on the last day with only two wickets left. The contest between Assam and Hyderabad in Hyderabad is at an exciting turn.
Assam need one wicket to win on the final day while Hyderabad need 22 runs. Chasing Assam’s target of 250 runs, Hyderabad have scored 228 runs for nine wickets. Tanmay Agarwal is playing by scoring 123 runs while Kartikeya Kak is supporting him by scoring one run. The Hyderabad team at one time was in a good position by scoring 171 runs for three wickets with captain Agarwal’s 74 for the third wicket with Bhavesh Seth (41) and 50 runs for the fourth wicket with Rahul Buddhi (28), but after that the team Lost wickets in quick succession and was in trouble.
Assam scored 252 runs in the second innings after trailing by three runs in the first innings. Ravi Teja took five wickets for 50 runs. Chasing Maharashtra’s target of 240 in Vijayanagar, Andhra are 100 for four. Maharashtra need six wickets to win while Andhra need 140 runs on the final day. After trailing by 11 runs in the first innings, Maharashtra scored 250 runs in the second innings.
