The Hindu : Sport : TN, Rajasthan take a point each

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Friday, Dec 21, 2007
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TN, Rajasthan take a point each

Special Correspondent

— Photo: K. Pichumani

VALUABLE KNOCK: Robin Bisht of Rajasthan defied the Tamil Nadu attack to score an unbeaten 79 in Chennai on Thursday.

Chennai: A sluggish start to its campaign and then inclement weather have virtually ruled Tamil Nadu out of contention for a place in the knock-out phase of the Ranji Trophy super league.

The host also learned an important cricketing lesson here at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday: you have to take your catches.

M. Vijay put down Robin Bisht on 10 at slip off R. Ramkumar, Abhinav Mukund grassed Jhalani on eight at mid-wicket off P. Amarnath, and a few half-chances were also not gobbled up.

Tamil Nadu should have done better on the field.

Costly lapses

With the fielding side racing against time, these lapses proved costly. Bisht remained unbeaten on 79 (175b, 9x4) and along with skipper Jhalani (18, 50b, 3x4), batted almost till the end.

Tamil Nadu declared at its overnight score, setting Rajasthan 325 for the lead in a minimum of 98 overs.

The visitor was 229 for six when the rain-affected Group ‘A’ contest concluded. Both teams secured one point each from the duel.

Tamil Nadu has 13 from six matches and Rajasthan, four from an equal number of games.

When skipper Jhalani joined Bisht, 17.2 overs remained.

Tamil Nadu had a sniff, but the compact Bisht and a determined Jhalani guided the side to safety.

Saxena shines

Earlier, Vinit Saxena (71, 205b, 6x4, 1x6), a short opener with sound basics, defied the Tamil Nadu bowlers before being picked up at short-leg by Abhinav off skipper Badrinath’s fastish off-breaks.

Then the pleasing Bisht proved a roadblock for Tamil Nadu.

He was balanced in offence and defence and handled a stressful situation well.

For the host, off-spinner S. Suresh Kumar bowled within his limitations to pick up two wickets, often spinning the ball in from the footmarks.

Yomahesh was zestful with the second new ball taken after 80 overs. Tamil Nadu meets Delhi in Chennai, while Rajasthan, fighting relegation, takes on Himachal Pradesh at Dharamasala in the last round.

The scores:

Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: 324 for four decl.

Rajasthan — 1st innings: V. Saxena c A. Mukund b Badrinath 71, A. Sharma b S. Suresh Kumar 6, R. Bishnoi c Vasudeva Das b S. Suresh Kumar 16, N. Doru (run out) 11, R. Bisht (batting) 79, N. Gehlot c Vasudeva Das b Yomahesh 18, R. Jhalani b C. Suresh 18, Shamsher (batting) 0, Extras (b-6, lb-3, w-1): 10; Total (for six wkts. 101 in overs) 229.

Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-48, 3-86, 4-141, 5-172, 6-225.

Tamil Nadu bowling: Yomahesh 14-3-50-1, Amarnath 13-7-25-0, C. Suresh 19-6-22-1, Ramkumar 28-10-48-0, S. Suresh Kumar 17-3-50-2, Badrinath 6-0-20-1, Vasudeva Das 4-1-5-0.

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