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Vijay’s assault leaves Punjab bleeding

Special Correspondent

AMRITSAR: Murali Vijay produced a spectacular assault that left Punjab wounded at the Gandhi ground here.

The dapper Tamil Nadu opener enhanced his reputation with an innings (148 off 218 balls) that confirmed his place among the batsmen to watch for as Tamil Nadu finished the day at 340 for six, 112 runs ahead thus far, in the Ranji Trophy super league match on Wednesday.

Five wickets in the last session, however, gave Punjab something to smile about. Earlier, Punjab resumed the second day at 212 for seven and added another 16 runs this morning. L. Balaji and C. Ganapathy shared the wickets after V. Yomahesh was stopped from bowling in the innings for running on to the pitch.

Strong statement

The strong statement by Vijay came from a self-assurance that the dressing room gained following the good work by the bowlers.

Vijay and Abhinav Mukund (61 off 101 balls with seven fours and one six) then set the tempo for K. B. Arun Karthik to join the party on an immensely entertaining afternoon.

They reduced the Punjab attack to an embarrassingly pedestrian level.

The fluency that marked the Tamil Nadu batting was on expected lines with Mukund making an early impression.

“I enjoy batting with Abhinav,” said Vijay. Punjab was battered by a very determined set of batsmen where Vijay was outstanding and Mukund and Karthik able allies.

There was a delightful competition of sorts between the two to dominate and Punjab learnt the hard way how poor its line of attack was.

Vijay, relieved by the Indian team management to play this Ranji Trophy match, paced his innings wonderfully.

Arun Karthik (73 off 89 balls) didn’t need to, having stepped on to the field with a mission — to demolish the opposition.

The range of shots that the two displayed and the ease with which they executed them put them in an exalted category indeed.

Vijay, who hit 16 fours and three sixes, was unstoppable. With Arun Karthik bringing an aesthetic touch to his batting, the 500-strong audience had its fill even as Vijay and Arun Karthik (seven fours and three sixes) fell in quick succession towards the end of the day’s play.

The scores:

Punjab — 1st innings: V. Bhalla b Sathish 6, Ravi Inder b Yo Mahesh 26, U. Kaul (run out) 11, C. Madan b Srinivas 36, P. Dharmani c Mukund b Ganapathy 83, A. Kakkar lbw b Ashwin 14, Gaurav Gambhir b Yo Mahesh 28, L. Abilish b Balaji 0, B. Loomba b Balaji 3, V. Khanna c Mukund b Balaji 0, S. Ladda (not out) 0, Extras (lb-11, nb-6, w-4) 21, Total (all out in 98.1 overs) 228.

Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-40, 3-62, 4-120, 5-160, 6-206, 7-207, 8-222, 9-228.

Tamil Nadu bowling: Balaji 17.1-6-32-3, Ganapathy 13.4-3-29-1, Sathish 20-9-31-1, Yomahesh 17.2-3-62-2, Srinivas 15-3-23-1, Mukund 2-0-5-0.

Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: A. Mukund c Kaul b Abilish 61, M. Vijay b Ladda 148, Arun Karthik c Ravi b Ladda 73, D. Karthik (batting) 18, S. Suresh Kumar lbw b Khanna 1, R. Satish c Loomba b Ladda 7, Yomahesh c Bhalla b Khanna 5; Extras (b-10, lb-6, nb-10, w-1) 27, Total (for six wickets in 76.4 overs) 340.

Fall of wickets: 1-154, 2-302, 3-307, 4-313, 5-322, 6-340.

Punjab bowling: Abilish 16-3-50-1, Loomba 17-5-65-0, Bhalla 2-0-19-0, Khanna 16.4-0-82-2, Ladda 21-0-90-3, Gambhir 3-0-11-0, Kakkar 1-0-7-0.

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