In a contest that has thrown up the welcome possibility of an outright victory in favour of either team, Tamil Nadu gained a lead of 43 runs after curtailing Maharashtra to 233 in its first innings on day two of a Ranji Trophy Group ‘B’ encounter.
On Sunday, two individuals — Malolan Rangarajan and Shrikant Mundhe — came up with sparkling all-round performances, doing the double of a half-century and four wickets.
In the morning, Tamil Nadu’s innings lasted eight balls; Malolan (53, 93b, 9x4) added three runs to his and the team’s tally before falling to Mundhe (four for 38).
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Wobbly beginning
Maharashtra emulated the home side’s wobbly beginning, losing three wickets for 38 runs. Skipper L. Balaji (four for 28) kick-started the assault by evicting openers Chirag Khurana and Harshad Khadiwale.
With five dismissals (three catches and two stumpings), Dinesh Karthik had a fruitful day. Maharashtra went to lunch, perched on an unsatisfactory 79 for four.
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The second session began inauspiciously for the visitor as Sangram Atitkar (36, 4x4, 1x6) succumbed to Malolan (four for 55). Kedar Jadhav (45, 63b, 4x4, 2x6), who scored a triple-ton in the last match, undid his good work with a reckless charge. Captain Rohit Motwani (44, 6x4) and Mundhe (61, 116b, 9x4, 1x6) put on 98 runs in a restorative seventh-wicket alliance.
Even as Motwani earned his corn with the sweep, the 24-year-old Mundhe cut and drove with brusqueness. Once Motwani was removed, things fell apart for Maharashtra.
The scores: Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: Abhinav Mukund lbw b Mundhe 6, M. Vijay c Khadiwale b Mundhe 0, B. Aparajith c & b Bacchav 23, S. Badrinath b Mundhe 0, K. Dinesh Karthik c Motwani b Khurana 29, R. Prasanna b Darekar 56, V. Yomahesh b Darekar 81, Malolan Rangarajan b Mundhe 53, L. Balaji b Fallah 2, J. Kaushik lbw b Fallah 4, R. Aushik Srinivas (not out) 4; Extras (b-8, lb-4, nb-4, w-2): 18; Total (all out in 91.2 overs): 276.
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-8, 3-8, 4-62, 5-87, 6-197, 7-220, 8-234, 9-254.
Maharashtra bowling: Samad Fallah 20-7-52-2, Shrikant Mundhe 17.2-3-38-4, Akshay Darekar 28-7-86-2, Satyajit Bacchav 16-3-48-1, Chirag Khurana 7-2-30-1, Nikhil Paradkar 3-1-10-0.
Maharashtra — 1st innings: Harshad Khadiwale b Balaji 15, Chirag Khurana c Karthik b Balaji 2, Sangram Atitkar c Abhinav b Malolan 36, Nikhil Paradkar c Karthik b Balaji 2, Ankit Bawne st. Karthik b Aushik 0, Kedar Jadhav st. Karthik b Malolan 45, Rohit Motwani lbw b Kaushik 44, Shrikant Mundhe c Karthik b Malolan 61, Akshay Darekar (not out) 13, Satyajit Bacchav c Aparajith b Balaji 0, Samad Fallah c Abhinav b Malolan 1; Extras (b-2, lb-1, nb-3, w-8): 14, Total (all out in 76.3 overs): 233.
Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-24, 3-38, 4-41, 5-94, 6-109, 7-207, 8-227, 9-230.
Tamil Nadu bowling: L. Balaji 17-3-28-4, J. Kaushik 14-3-41-1, R. Aushik Srinivas 14-4-72-1, V. Yomahesh 12-4-27-0, Malolan Rangarajan 16.3-5-55-4, B. Aparajith 3-1-7-0.