Tamil Nadu opener N. Jagadeesan continued his prolific run this season scoring a brilliant century (116 batting, 95b, 16x4, 3x6) and in the process put on an unbroken, 203-run stand in 35 overs with an equally efficient opening partner B. Sai Sudharsan (87 batting, 115b, 11x4) against Hyderabad at close of play on the second day of the four-day Ranji Trophy championship at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Wednesday.
Earlier, Hyderabad posted 395 which then looked to be a challenging total thanks to the brilliant Mickil Jaiswal scoring his maiden Ranji hundred (137 n.o., 193b, 18x4, 3x6) in his third match. He put on a 124-run stand for the sixth wicket with captain Tanmay Agarwal (135, 271b, 16x4).
The two looked solid in handling the Tamil Nadu attack which clearly struggled till the new ball was taken and that made a big difference as after Tanmay departed, the others failed to come good in the face of accurate bowling by pacer Warrier, who completed a five-wicket haul, and ably supported by pacer L. Vignesh, who claimed four wickets.
But, if Hyderabad thought it would dictate terms, then it was up against a very determined opening pair of Sudharsan and Jagadeesan. The two batted as if they had a limited-overs target by the close of play with the first 10 overs producing 65 runs.
Clearly, the home team bowling looked clueless as the innings progressed. Pacer Karthikeya Kak looked better when bowling to the right-handed Jagdeesan, moving the ball away but struggled against the southpaw Sudharsan.
The Tamil Nadu openers combined wonderful stroke selection with rock-solid defence when the situation demanded without actually letting the bowlers come on top at any stage.
Scores
Hyderabad - 1st innings: Tanmay Agarwal c Pradosh b Warrier 135, Abhirath Reddy b Warrier 0, K. Rohit Rayudu b Vignesh 0, Tanay Thyagarajan c Pradosh b Warrier 28, Jaweed Ali c Jagadeesan b Sai Kishore 6, T. Ravi Teja c Vijay b Warrier 72, Mickil Jaiswal not out 137, Prateek Reddy c Jagadeesan b Warrier 0, G. Anikethreddy lbw b Vignesh 0, Kartikeya Kak c Pradosh b Vignesh 6, Bhuvanagiri Punnaiah c Jagadeesan b Vignesh 0.
Extras: (b-5, lb-3, w-3) 11.
Total: (all out in 115 overs) 395
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-3, 3-34, 4-46, 5-187, 6-311, 7-317, 8-318, 9-379, 10-395
Tamil Nadu bowling: Vignesh 28-3-91-4, Warrier 29-7-83-5, Crist 20-2-61-0, Sai Kishore 19-2-86-1, Aparajith 8-2-25-0, Vijay 10-0-34-0, Sai Sudarsan 1-0-7-0.
Tamil Nadu -1st innings: B. Sai Sudarsan batting 87, N. Jagadeesan batting 116.
Extras: 0.
Hyderabad bowling: Kartikeya 10-0-55-0, Punnaiah 6-0-28-0, Ravi Teja 6-0-42-0, Anikethreddy 5-0-36-0, Thyagarajan 8-0-42-0.
