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Tamil Nadu wins battle for first innings lead

Special Correspondent

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Exercise in futility: After Tamil Nadu took the lead the match lost its edge. Here Railways’ T.P. Singh sweeps Dinesh Karthik, who too chanced his arm.

NEW DELHI: C. Ganapathy and R. Jesuraj ensured Tamil Nadu took the first innings lead as the Ranji Trophy Super League match ended in a draw at the Karnaill Singh Stadium here on Friday.

Resuming at 312 for eight, Tamil Nadu prospered through the determined tail-enders to enjoy a ‘moral’ victory for the season ahead. Once the lead was taken, the remaining part of the day was a mundane exercise as Railways finished at 178 for two when the match was called off with only the mandatory overs left.

Tamil Nadu earned three points from the first innings lead, while Railways finished with one.

‘Waste of time’

Railways skipper Murali Kartik termed it a waste of time. “It is better to call off the game when nothing can be made of it. It only gives inflated figures at the end of the day. As it is said, it is an exercise in futility, practically a one-innings affair.”

The point was highlighted by Tamil Nadu skipper Dinesh Karthik discarding his gloves to bowl a mixture of off-spin and leg-spin.

The Railways skipper welcomed the idea of a five-day match. “At least it gives you more time to try for a result. It also builds you as a player because it allows you to improve your batting. But then it would also mean lesser rest between matches.”

On the contest, Kartik noted, “Our total was below par but then it was a good effort overall. We need to learn from it. We have a point to show at the end of it,”

“It was one of the toughest pitch to bat because we are not used to surfaces like this. We like the ball to come on and that’s why the performance looks good. It shows the character of the team. There are areas to improve but we are going in the right direction.”

Tamil Nadu now meets Gujarat in Ahmedabad while Railways hosts Himachal Pradesh. The matches start on November 10.

The scores: Railways — 1st innings: 327.

Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: A. Mukund (run out) 0, M. Vijay lbw b M. Kartik 65, K. B. Arun Kartik b M. Kartik 47, S. Badrinath lbw b 111, D. Karthik b Gehlot 13, S. Suresh Kumar lbw b Sanyal 18, R. Ashwin b M. Kartik 22, C. Ganapathy b Kartik 32, L. Balaji c M. Rawat b Gehlot 12, R. Jesuraj c Rawat b Gehlot 8, A. Srinivas (not out) 1; Extras (b-2, lb-3, nb-3): 8. Total (in 151.3 overs): 337.

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-83, 3-150, 4-169, 5-221, 6-274, 7-296, 8-312, 9-335.

Railways bowling: Gehlot 27.3-6-70-3, Bangar 33-12-62-1, Suresh 14-2-58-0, Sanyal 19-4-32-1, Kartik 52-18-100-4, Parida 6-2-10-0.

Railways — 2nd innings: F. Fazal b Balaji 9, V. Cheluveraj (not out) 61, S. Bangar (run out) 39, T. P. Singh (not out) 63; Extras (lb-3, nb-3): 6, Total (for two wickets in 59 overs) 178.

Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-87.

Tamil Nadu bowling: Balaji 7-4-4-1, Jesuraj 4-1-12-0, Ganapathy 2-1-7-0, Mukund 6-1-18-0, Aswhin 16-4-21-0, Suresh 11-2-50-0, Vijay 9-3-31-0, Karthik 4-0-32-0.

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