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Vijay’s century secures Tamil Nadu a win

Special Correspondent

— Photo: K. Pichumani

CONTROLLING THE CHASE: Tamil Nadu’s chase of what proved to be a tricky target was built around M. Vijay’s century.

CHENNAI: M. Vijay’s 108 was instrumental in Tamil Nadu’s two-wicket win over Hyderabad on a day of close-fought third round matches in the South Zone Ranji one-day cricket league for the K.S. Subbiah Pillai Trophy.

Chasing 237 on an SRMC track that favoured turn proved tricky for Tamil Nadu, but Vijay’s adeptly paced knock, R. Ramkumar’s aggression early in the innings, and M.K. Sivakumar’s nerve at the end helped the league leader clinch the match.

In another of Friday’s matches, centuries from J. Arun Kumar and Ajay Ratra took Goa to the doorstep of an incredible win at ICL-Guru Nanak, but a late slide left the side five short of Karnataka’s 312 for nine. Vinay Kumar (82 and four for 46) was the standout performer for Karnataka.

At the Pachaiyappa’s ground, Gnaneswara Rao’s unbeaten 159 (122b, 11x4, 5x6) allowed Andhra to better Kerala’s 317 for five with 15 balls to spare.

Tamil Nadu, scheduled to play Andhra on Saturday, lost S. Anirudha early on Friday.

But, Ramkumar, who opened with Anirudha, ensured his side regained momentum with a 40-ball 37 containing seven fours, the best of them a casual flick off the hip. The left-hander added 73 with Vijay in 13.1 overs.

Ramkumar’s exit allowed Hyderabad to choke Tamil Nadu’s run flow. With S. Badrinath not timing the ball as he might have wished, it fell on Vijay to control the chase.

Vijay formed crucial partnerships with Badrinath and the left-handed R. Prasanna. He also got the residents of the hostel adjoining the ground behind Tamil Nadu after a splendidly struck six (one of five he hit) entered the premises through an open window.

Vijay fell to a line-ball stumping with Tamil Nadu 24 short, but his two paddle-swept boundaries in the vital 43rd over had helped ease the pressure. Although Pragyan Ojha continued to rip his left-arm orthodox deliveries and the running between the wickets tended on occasion to the suicidal, Sivakumar (19 n.o., 2x4) kept his head. Earlier, Abhinav Kumar compiled a fine 93 (119b, 6x4, 1x6) for Hyderabad. C. Ganapathy and R. Ashwin took three wickets each.

The scores: Hyderabad 236 for six in 50 overs (S. Anoop Pai 49, Abhinav Kumar 93) lost to Tamil Nadu 237 for eight in 49 overs (M. Vijay 108). Points: TN 4, Hyderabad 0; Karnataka 312 for nine in 50 overs (C.M. Gowtham 40, Vinay Kumar 82, C. Raghu 70, Devraj Patil 52, Saurabh Bandekar four for 52) bt Goa 307 in 49.5 overs (J. Arun Kumar 108, Ajay Ratra 103, Shadab Jakati 50, Vinay Kumar four for 46). Points: Karnataka 4, Goa 0; Kerala 317 for five in 50 overs (Sebastian Anthony 52, Rohan Prem 76, Raiphi Gomez 40, P.V. Manikandan 84) lost to Andhra 320 for three in 47.3 overs (L.N. Prasad Reddy 72, Gnaneswara Rao 159 n.o., A.S.K. Varma 43 n.o.). Points: Andhra 4, Kerala 0; Position after the third round: Tamil Nadu (14 pts), Karnataka (13 pts), Andhra (4 pts), Kerala and Goa (3 pts), Hyderabad (-1).