One has to strain to hear B. Aparajith; but not when he speaks through his bat. The strokes are pronounced and definite.
His well-crafted 56 and a sedate 47 from his twin brother B. Indrajith formed the basis of the Tamil Nadu innings at the Emerald Heights International School ground here on Thursday.
Not far behind was R. Prasanna, whose unbeaten 51 carried immense value to the team’s cause on the opening day of the Group ‘B’ Ranji Trophy match as Tamil Nadu finished at 225 for five.
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The pitch was expected to assist the seamers and the decision to bowl first by Madhya Pradesh was hardly surprising.
But there was a twist to the tale. The ball did not fly or kick and bowlers had to rely on all the craft in their armoury to make an impression.
It turned out to be a test of attrition and the honours were shared primarily because Udit Birla did not disappoint the team management when asked to bowl seamers and not the off-spin he is known to.
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Flexible operator
“I am not a fixed off-spinner. I do what the team requires. Last match I bowled off-spin and seamers here because of the conditions. My job was to provide rest to the main bowlers. The wickets came as a bonus,” said the 25–year-old Birla.
He accounted for the dismissal of set batsmen — Abhinav Mukund and Indrajith — the former to a splendid catch on the follow-through. Indrajith was distinctly displeased with the decision.
Tamil Nadu was rocked early when K. Bharath Shankar played the wrong line before Mukund and Aparajith added 63 runs.
The first session was intense with the batsmen being watchful but also exploring scoring opportunities. Mukund was confident while Aparajith looked assured, his footwork certain and shot selection flawless till his concentration lapsed.
“The pitch was true but challenging. It was not easy to bat because they bowled in the right areas. The good thing was that everyone spent time in the middle.” His 133-ball knock contained seven fours.
Dinesh Karthik lost his wicket when the ball brushed his pad and hit the stumps.
Once again he had got out when set for a big innings.
Disciplined knock
Indrajith came up with a disciplined 103-ball knock with four fours and a six but the latter half of the day was embellished by Prasanna’s earnest show.
“He is our crisis player and has excelled at No. 6 many times,” observed Tamil Nadu cricket manager R.I. Palani. The left-hander, during his 118-ball knock, hit six fours and hung in to promise more.
The scores:
Tamil Nadu — 1st innings : K. Bharath Shankar b Datey 1, Abhinav Mukund c & b Birla 24, B. Aparajith c Naman Ojha b Pandey 56, Dinesh Karthik b Pandey 29, B. Indrajith c Ojha b Pandey 47, R. Prasanna (batting) 51, J. Kousik (batting) 14; Extras (nb-2, w-1): 3; Total (for five wkts. in 89 overs): 225.
Fall of wickets : 1-6, 2-69, 3-100, 4-115, 5-201.
Madhya Pradesh bowling : Ishwar Pandey 20-6-57-2, Puneet Datey 21-7-33-1, Yogesh Rawat 21-5-63-0, Udit Birla 10-3-16-2, Ankit Sharma 6-0-28-0, Jalaj Saxena 11-0-28-0.
Toss : Madhya Pradesh.