Abhinav Mukund has grown in stature this season, both as a batsman and a leader of men. His century here on a greenish pitch assisting seamers was one of technique and composure.
From the team’s perspective, the left-hander shouldered responsibility as captain. His third hundred of this Ranji season could not have come at a more opportune moment for Tamil Nadu.
Riding on Abhinav’s 100 (165b, 13x4) and valuable efforts from B. Indrajith 68 (166b, 5x4) and Dinesh Karthick (65, 102b, 6x4), Tamil Nadu made 337 in the first innings, gaining a mammoth lead of 244 runs, in the Ranji Trophy contest against Baroda at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Stadium here on Sunday.
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Baroda was 44 without loss in its second innings at stumps on day two. Paceman Aswin Crist put down a difficult return catch off opener Kedar Devdhar in the first over.
There now is some assistance for spinners in this pitch and the odd delivery is tending to keep low.
In the morning, Abhinav was the cynosure, both in the manner he left deliveries outside off from the pacemen and the way he met deliveries with a straight blade unless the length was short.
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The opener picked the length capably and got himself into good positions. Abhinav’s bat is coming down straighter, enabling him cope with movement better. His judgement of line was good, so was his selection of shots.
Against the spinners, Abhinav was not averse to using his feet and employing the lofted shots.
Mukund’s 147-run partnership for the second wicket in 270 deliveries with B. Indrajith was the backbone of the innings.
A well-organised batsman, Indrajith got behind the line and batted in a manner that was pleasing. His back-lift may be elaborate but Indrajith is quickly on to the ball. The right-hander was secure in defence and measured in offence.
Karthik applied himself, batted with the tail and was the last man dismissed. When he played punishing strokes, he did so with panache. A back-footed punch square off Munaf was a top shot from Karthik.
Vijay Shankar and N. Jagadeesan looked promising but could not progress to more weighty scores.
Jagadeesan was drawn into an on-field spat with left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh after being castled but the umpires quickly stepped in to control the situation.
The scores:
Baroda — 1st innings: 93.
Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: Kaushik Gandhi c Pinal b Mangalorkar 11, Abhinav Mukund lbw b Tai 100, B. Indrajith lbw b Yusuf Pathan 68, Vijay Shankar st Pinal b Yusuf 28, Dinesh Karthik c Mistry b Vahora 65, N. Jagadeesan b Swapnil 32, Malolan Rangarajan b Munaf 9, Aswin Crist b Munaf 2, L. Vignesh c Pinal b Munaf 0, K. Vignesh c Yusuf b Munaf 3, Aushik Srinivas (not out) 0; Extras (nb-8, w-9, lb-2): 19; Total (in 102.4 overs): 337.
Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-179, 3-218, 4-219, 5-288, 6-305, 7-322, 8-322, 9-335.
Baroda bowling: Munaf Patel 25.4-3-91-4, Sagar Mangalorkar 21-6-56-1, Murtuja Vahora 14-2-47-1, Vishnu Solanki 5-1-13-0, Swapnil Singh 16-5-34-1, Soaeb Tai 11-1-52-1, Yusuf Pathan 10-1-42-0.
Baroda — 2nd innings: Kedar Devdhar (batting) 33, Dhiren Mistry (batting) 9; Extras (lb-2): 2; Total (for no wkt. in 16 overs): 44.
Tamil Nadu bowling: Aswin Crist 6-1-23-0, L. Vignesh 4-2-8-0, K. Vignesh 3-3-0-0, Aushik Srinivas 2-0-5-0, R. Malolan 1-0-6-0.