The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Fourth win for Tamil Nadu

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 02, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Fourth win for Tamil Nadu

Special Correspondent

— Photo: K. Pichumani

VERSATILE KNOCK: Tamil Nadu’s Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan was all aggression as he scored his 111 off just 90 balls.

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu put on a fine batting display in conditions tailor-made for stroke play to register its fourth successive win in the South Zone Ranji one-day cricket league for the K.S. Subbiah Pillai Trophy.

Set 293 for victory here at the ICL-Guru Nanak college ground, Tamil Nadu, driven by hundreds from M. Vijay and S. Vidyut, eased home in the 43rd over.

The five-wicket win ensured Tamil Nadu a spot in the national knockout phase.

Also advancing to the next stage is Karnataka after a convincing win over Kerala at SRMC.

With Tamil Nadu and Karnataka unbeaten and level on 18 points, Monday’s final-round match between the sides will determine the champion of the Subbiah Pillai Trophy.

Stroke-filled

Tamil Nadu inserted Andhra on Saturday.

Stroke-filled half-centuries from Hemal Watekar (71, 77b, 7x4, 2x6), A.S.K. Varma (75, 85b, 6x4, 1x6), and A.G. Pradeep (73, 65b, 6x4, 2x6) were indications of things to follow.

The track allowed the ball to come on, facilitating shot making on the rise.

The quick outfield contributed to the large proportion of fours hit.

In this light, the run-outs effected by debutant K.B. Arun Karthick, M.K. Sivakumar, off his bowling, and R. Ashwin were crucial in pegging Andhra back.

Arun Karthick, whose athleticism in the field was striking, looked good with the bat before he was run out.

Opening instead of S. Anirudha, who was left out, the slim youngster struck the ball assuredly for a 27-ball 32.

Vijay and Vidyut notched up their second centuries of the tournament, putting on 184 in 154 balls for the third wicket.

A cover-drive on the up stood out in Vijay’s 100 (101b, 10x4, 3x6), but the observer was spoilt for choice.

Impressively, the right-hander didn’t ignore the virtue of the single tucked behind square, which brought the left-handed Vidyut on strike and forced the bowlers to alter line.

Two of Vidyut’s sixes showcased the versatility of his stroke play.

One was helped over extra-cover with an extension of the arms, another bludgeoned over deep mid-wicket.

His 111 took just 90 balls and contained 11 fours and three sixes.

Chucking

The Andhra bowling, smarting from the assault, received a further jolt when off-spinner Watekar was called by umpire Y. Barde for chucking.

In Saturday’s other matches, Prashant Parameswaran’s six for 35 couldn’t prevent Karnataka steamrolling Kerala, while Hyderabad, thanks to Anoop Pai’s 102, recorded its first win of the tournament against Goa at CPT-IP.

The scores:

Andhra 292 in 48.3 overs (H. Watekar 71, A.S.K. Varma 75, A.G. Pradeep 73) lost to Tamil Nadu 295 for five in 42.3 overs (M. Vijay 100, S. Vidyut 111). Points: TN 4, Andhra 0.

Karnataka 247 in 49.2 overs (C.M. Gowtham 76, C. Raghu 42, Devraj Patil 40, Prashant Parameswaran six for 35) bt Kerala 115 in 26.1 overs (K.P. Appanna four for eight). Points: Karnataka 5, Kerala -1.

Hyderabad 284 for eight in 50 overs (Ronald Rodrigues 40, Arjun Yadav 54, Anoop Pai 102, Abhinav Kumar 46) bt Goa 222 in 47.2 overs (Swapnil Asnodkar 64, Ajay Ratra 63, Mohammed Shakeer four for 52). Points: Hyderabad 5, Goa -1.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport