Tamil Nadu’s incomprehensible crawl would have driven even its faithful fan to wonder at the tactics.
Resuming at 234 for four, it added 169 runs before leaving Vidarbha five overs to negotiate on the second day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal here on Tuesday.
With Vijay Shankar, 90 overnight, completing his century and the promising Baba Indrajith taking control of the innings, the stage suited Tamil Nadu since Vidarbha concentrated on slowing up the pace. But Tamil Nadu lost direction and allowed Vidarbha to get away with defensive tactics.
A run out, effected by S. Badrinath, gave Vidarbha an early breakthrough. The dismissal of R. Prasanna was a setback even though Vijay Shankar looked good for a long stay in the middle.
He lasted 90 balls on the day but added a mere 21 runs, a sharp contrast to his lively show on the opening day. Having hit 13 fours and a six, Vijay Shankar fell to his first indiscreet shot, wanting to strike left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurv against the spin.
Good stand The new pair at the crease, Indrajith and Malolan Rangarajan, had a task at hand. Vidarbha had come back into the game, playing within its limitations, and much depended on Tamil Nadu extending the initiative of the first day.
The inexperience factor weighed heavily when Indrajith took over the mantle but he guided the team well in the company of Rangarajan, a capable batsman in his own right.
The two put on 73 runs but consumed 141 balls on an easy paced pitch. This was the stage for Tamil Nadu to set the tempo but Vidarbha benefited from the tardy change of tactics by the team.
Vidarbha was hardly complaining as Indrajith set his eyes on a century. With two wickets left, the 20-year-old looked to keep strike, and in the process lost his rhythm. He refused easy singles and became desperate when Balaji departed.
The arrival of Prasanth Parameswaran evoked a sweep from Aprajith and the ill-conceived shot cost him a century. His 236-ball knock contained ten fours.
Dhurv was rewarded with three wickets for his perseverance while left-arm seamer, Shrikant Wagh, the most impressive Vidarbha bowler, ended up with two scalps.
The scores:
Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: Abhinav Mukund b Wagh 11, M. Vijay c Fazal b Thakur 96, B. Aparajith run out 10, Dinesh Karthik c Fazal b Thakur 4, Vijay Shankar lbw b Dhurv 111, R. Prasanna run out 22, B. Indrajith b Jangid 97, Malolan Rangarajan lbw b Wagh 27, Aswin Crist c Katariya b Dhurv 7, L. Balaji c Katariya b Dhurv 0, P. Parameswaran (not out) 0; Extras (b-3, lb-6, nb-5, w-4): 18; Total (in 169.5 overs): 403.
Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-41, 3-50, 4-190, 5-248, 6-283, 7-356, 8-386, 9-401.
Vidarbha bowling: Shrikant Wagh 34-17-53-2, Swapnil Bandiwar 38.5-8-94-0, Ravi Kumar Thakur 38.3-11-71-2, Faiz Fazal 15-4-47-0, Rakesh Dhurv 35.4-4-106-3, Ravi Jangid 7.5-0-23-1.
Vidarbha — 1st innings: Faiz Fazal (batting) 7, Sachin Katariya (batting) 1; Extras (nb-1): 1; Total (for no loss in five overs): 9.
Tamil Nadu bowling: Parameswaran 2-1-8-0, Balaji 2-2-0-0, Crist 1-0-1-0.
