Rameez Khan (87, 162b, 13x4) and Venkatesh Iyer (88, 125b, 12x4) slammed vital half-centuries as they added 112-runs for the sixth wicket to power Madhya Pradesh to a 132-run lead against Tamil Nadu on day two of the Elite Group B Ranji Trophy clash here at the Holkar Stadium on Thursday.
The two left-handers came together when the match was evenly poised on the second morning, with the home team at 84 for five, after Natarajan got two quick wickets. However, their efforts ensured MP finished the day on 281 for seven with Mihir Hirwani batting on 54 alongside Avesh Khan (7 n.o.).
Great application
Opener Rameez continued from where he left off on the first day, playing some glorious drives, especially down the ground. Venkatesh Iyer showed great application and innovation with his footwork to tackle the TN medium-pacers.
Venkatesh was not averse to walking down the track to cover for the swing and was successful in his efforts as he made some quick runs in the shortened session before lunch.
The left-hander started nervously with quite a few edges finding the boundaries but at the same time punished the bad deliveries.
In the first session, Natarajan was the best bowler for TN, moving the ball both ways but lacked support from the other end.
Shortly after lunch, Venkatesh went after the bowling, hitting four boundaries in the first six overs, with the last two coming off successive deliveries against Vignesh as he got to 52 off just 56 balls.
Listless bowling
It was here that TN let the game slip away with some listless bowling and gave too much width as the batsmen scored freely despite a defensive field.
The conditions too went against TN as the match started at 11.30 a.m. due to the solar eclipse which meant the pacers did not get a chance to exploit the early morning conditions.
Later Hirwani also feasted on some poor bowling, slamming a quickfire half-century (54 batting, 76b, 7x4). He was dropped on 47 by K. Mukunth at gully off Natarajan’s bowling towards the end of the day, with the ball going to the third-man fence to help the batsman get to his fifty.
The scores:
Tamil Nadu —1st innings: 149.
Madhya Pradesh — 1st innings: Rameez Khan c Kousik b Mohammed 87, Ajay Rohera lbw b Natarajan 0, Anand Singh Bais c Jagadeesan b Vignesh 8, Rajat Patidar c Jagadeesan b Natarajan 13, Yash Dubey lbw b Natarajan 12, Himanshu Mantri lbw b Natarajan 2, Venkatesh Iyer b Vignesh 88, Mihir Hirwani (batting) 54, Avesh Khan (batting) 7; Extras (lb-5, w-3, b-2): 10; Total (for seven wkts. in 79 overs): 281.
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-20, 3-41, 4-61, 5-84, 6-196, 7-244.
Tamil Nadu bowling: Natarajan 27-6-96-4, Vignesh 19-5-81-2, Mohammed 16-3-39-1, Kousik 8-1-27-0 , Aparajith 3-0-13-0, Sai Kishore 6-1-18-0 .
