da bwin： A mixture of insipid Mumbai bowling and inspired Tamil Nadu battingsaw the visitors post a more than healthy 397/4 at the end of thefirst day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal at the Wankhede stadium onTuesday
Anand Vasu11-Apr-2000A mixture of insipid Mumbai bowling and inspired Tamil Nadu battingsaw the visitors post a more than healthy 397/4 at the end of thefirst day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal at the Wankhede stadium onTuesday. With both Robin Singh and Hemang Badani at the crease withbig hundreds to their names, Tamil Nadu can look forward to puttingthe pressure on the Mumbai side tomorrow.The wicket proved to have a bit of juice in it. The ball came nicelyonto the bat off the bowling of both opening speedsters. There was noexaggerated lateral movement, but just enough nip to keep the batsmenon their toes.Sreedharan Sriram’s golden run with the bat came to a premature endafter he had scored just two runs at the Wankhede Stadium. Thesouthpaw came to this match with 1063 runs from seven innings behindhim. Ajit Agakar, generating good pace, got the ball to fly past theoutside more than once before he finally had his man. Swishing at adelivery just outside the off stump, Sriram nicked the ball through tostumper Dighe who held the catch with ease.S Ramesh looked good for his 44 at the crease but was run outattempting one cheeky single too many. Ramesh was found short of hiscrease by a good pick up and throw from Amol Muzumdar in theinfield. JR Madanagopal’s streaky stay at the crease lasted just 12balls. After edging one past the slips to pick up four, Madanagopalflashed hard at a ball from Saxena without moving his feet. All hemanaged to do was edge the ball to Dighe. Even Sridharan Sharath neverlooked convincing at the wicket. The fall of his wicket soon after theplayers returned from lunch did not come as a surprise. Hanging hisbat loosely outside off stump, Sharath edged a Powar off spinnertowards the slips. Diving low, Amol Muzumdar snatched the ball inchesfrom the ground and sent Sharath on his way.Tamil Nadu captain Robin Singh joined in form Hemang Badani out in themiddle with the Tamil Nadu score on 149/4. Singh and Badani ran well,pushing the fielders. Converting ones to twos and snatching singlesout of half chances, the two got the scoreboard ticking over at ahealthy rate.Singh and Badani proceeded to forge a partnership that put Tamil Nadufirmly in the driving seat. Mixing aggression with caution, Singh wasat his best. Choosing the right ball to go after, Robin Singh provedto be an ideal partner for Badani.The last session of play saw Tamil Nadu end what was a superb day bycompletely dominating the bowling. The seamers, tiring in the heat,grew less and less focussed. In turn, both Badani and Robin gotgoing. Badani seemed to slow down a bit after he had made hiscentury. However, having spent most of the day at the wicket, this wasunderstandable.Robin never flagged through the course of his innings. Whenever hemakes runs, Robin underlines the value of simplifying one’sgame. Playing with a straight bat to anything pitched up, Robin usedthe crease superbly. The ball slipped down leg side on more than oneoccasion and was efficiently hit away to the fence. Whether he wasnudging the ball around the corner or sending it sailing over theropes, Robin looked in command.At the end of the day, a very tired Badani had 152 to his name.Robin, not far behind, on 142, was happy with his side’sperformance. Tamil Nadu are in a good position to bat Mumbai out ofthe game tomorrow.