It was a day when the Delhi seamers virtually broke their backs in the early morning chill, but the Tamil Nadu batsmen refused to relent.
Lanky left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra met with early success, snaring R. Ashwin. But that didn’t help much as the visitors dug in to amass 463 in their first innings to take the second day’s honours in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal tie at Palam.
Resuming on 278 for four, Ashwin and S. Anirudha were at ease against the quicks. But, it was Mishra’s spin that troubled Ashwin and he ended up giving a catch to wicketkeeper Puneet Bisht on 13.
The visitors bounced back from the loss with Anirudha playing a pivotal role — or rather an unforgettable innings — that saw him reach his first ton in first-class cricket. “This is my best innings. I would always miss a century by a few runs, but this time I did it,” he said. Sadly, his father, national selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth, arrived after he was back in the dressing room.
His 99-run partnership with C. Ganapathy Chandrasekhra saw Tamil Nadu cross the 400-run mark. Anirudha, who started the day on 41, completed his ton in style. A straight drive off Aditya Jain saw him cross the double-digit figure in the 28th over of the day.
Post lunch, fortunes took a U-turn and the visitors capitulated, with Mishra accounting for two. The 40-minute lunch break perhaps broke Anirudha’s rhythm and he looked shaky. An aerial shot off Sumit Narwal was dropped by Ankur Julka at gully. Three deliveries later, he departed, caught at the mid-off by Rajat Bhatia off Mishra. But, his fine 113, studded with 13 boundaries, catapulted the visitors to a strong position.
{{/usCountry}}Post lunch, fortunes took a U-turn and the visitors capitulated, with Mishra accounting for two. The 40-minute lunch break perhaps broke Anirudha’s rhythm and he looked shaky. An aerial shot off Sumit Narwal was dropped by Ankur Julka at gully. Three deliveries later, he departed, caught at the mid-off by Rajat Bhatia off Mishra. But, his fine 113, studded with 13 boundaries, catapulted the visitors to a strong position.
{{/usCountry}}Mishra, on a high now, ensured that Ganapathy (41) didn’t last long. The batsman failed to read his line and the ball crashed into his stumps. Mishra finished with figures of 43-13-112-5.
Late into the second session, the medium-pacers earned a few scalps. Pradeep Sangwan claimed U. Sushil and R. Suteesh off consecutive deliveries to reduce the visitors to 421 for nine. But, TN’s innings was far from over as L. Balaji scored a swashbuckling 42 off 66 balls before going down to Parvinder Awana.
Delhi’s Aakash Chopra gave him a lease of life, dropping him on 13 at slip. Balaji was especially brutal on Sangwan, hitting a four and a six in a single over.
Delhi got off to a dismal start, losing their openers early. Chopra had scored 10 when spinner R. Ashwin claimed him and Shikhar Dhawan was shown the door by left-arm medium-pacer R. Suteesh on 17. At close, the home team’s score was 69 for 2 with Aditya Jain and Mithun Manhas at the crease.