Vimal, Pradosh slam tons as Tamil Nadu dominate; Solanki shines for Baroda

DIMAPUR: Vimal Khumar and Pradosh Ranjan Paul struck massive hundreds as Tamil Nadu piled up 399 for two against Nagaland on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match here on Saturday.

Coming in for the ailing B Sachin, 24-year-old left-hander Vimal (189) grabbed his opportunity, hammering 28 boundaries during his 224-ball stay. Pradosh remained unbeaten on 156 off 252 balls, laced with 19 fours.

The duo added 307 runs for the second wicket before Vimal fell to Ronit More (1/33) in the 76th over, with Jonathan taking the catch.

At stumps, Pradosh was batting alongside Andre Siddharth C (30).

Debutant wicketkeeper-batter S R Athish (14) was the other wicket to fall, dismissed by Odilemba Kichu (1/69). None of the Nagaland bowlers made much impact as Tamil Nadu, who lost their season opener to Jharkhand in Coimbatore, pushed for maximum points.

Rated highly by senior pro R Ashwin, Vimal fell a few runs short of converting his maiden first-class ton into a double after a lapse in concentration.

In Vizianagaram, Vishnu Solanki was left stranded on 99 as he guided Baroda to 230 for six at stumps on a rain-hit opening day against Andhra Pradesh.

Solanki hit 12 fours and two sixes during his unbeaten 183-ball stay after walking in with Baroda struggling at 53 for three. His partnership with skipper Atit Sheth (65 not out) rescued the side from 76 for six.

For Andhra, debutant seamer K Saiteja claimed four wickets, while spinner T Vijay took the remaining two. Baroda had earlier beaten Odisha by seven wickets.

In Nagpur, openers Shikhar Mohan (60) and Sharandeep Singh (46) produced a solid start as Jharkhand reached 119 without loss in 38 overs against defending champions against Vidarbha.

Shikhar struck five fours, while Sharandeep hit four boundaries at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. Both teams are coming off innings victories in their previous matches — Vidarbha defeating Nagaland by an innings and 179 runs, and Jharkhand beating Tamil Nadu by an innings and 114 runs.

In Kanpur, half-centuries from Sandeep Pattnaik (53), Govinda Poddar (64), Sambit S Baral (59 not out) and Rajesh Mohanty (48) helped Odisha post 243 in 77.1 overs after opting to bat against Uttar Pradesh.

For the hosts, Shivam Sharma (3/65), Shivam Mavi (2/46), Vipraj Nigam (2/39), Prashant Veer (2/1) and Kunal Tyagi (1/29) shared the wickets.

Brief Scores:

Tamil Nadu 1st innings:

399 for 2 in 90 overs (Vimal Khumar 189, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 156 not out; Ronit More 1/33) vs Nagaland.

Baroda 1st innings: 230 for 6 in 79 overs (Vishnu Solanki 99 not out; Kavuri Saiteja 4/28) vs Andhra

Vidarbha 1st innings: 119 for 0 in 38 overs (Shikhar Mohan 60 not out, Sharandeep Singh 46 not out) vs Jharkhand.

Odisha 1st innings: 243allout in 77.1 overs (Govinda Poddar 64, Sambit S Baral 59 not out; Shivam Sharma 3/65) vs UP.