Ranji Trophy: On a green top, Sai Sudharsan’s double ton puts Tamil Nadu in control against Delhi
B Sai Sudharsan isn’t as flamboyant and soothing to the eye as any other southpaw. Even the best shots of the day were played by Washington Sundar. But Sudharsan once again showed he has got a good head on his shoulders and an appetite for big runs to excel at the highest level. Sudharsan’s maiden double century, where he remained unbeaten on 202, meant Tamil Nadu plundered 379 for 1 on the opening day against Delhi in their Ranji Trophy clash at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Sudharsan, who turned 23 three days ago, continued his rich vein of form in the first-class cricket as he smashed his third century of the season. Interestingly all three have come, where he has batted out of the position and in different conditions. Playing for Surrey he scored 105, while batting at No 6. In the Duleep Trophy, where he was not able to convert his starts, the youngster ended the tournament with a fine 111 while batting at No 3 for India C against India A. Cut to the present, on Friday, Sudharsan notched up his sixth first-class ton and this time opening the innings.
The knock against Delhi will satisfy Sudharsan, who along with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhimanyu Easwaran will be fighting for the position of the third opener for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Series in Australia. The trio will also fight it out during India A’s tour of Australia that begins later this month. India A are set to play two four-day matches against Australia A in the run-up to the marquee series.
Delhi misread the pitch
The tinge of grass on the surface deceived home team captain Himmat Singh, who won the flip of the coin and put Tamil Nadu to bat.
There were a few oohs and aahs in the first half an hour as Delhi pacers Navdeep Saini and Himanshu Chauhan found lateral movement. The Tamil Nadu openers Sai Sudharsan and N Jagadeesan started on a cautious note. Saini went past the outside edge of theTamil Nadu captain a few times. The first boundary for Tamil Nadu came in the eighth over when Jagadeesan played a gorgeous square drive past the backward point.
Stumps on Day 1!
A solid day for Tamil Nadu
They move to 379/1 with Sai Sudharsan (202*) & Washington Sundar (96*) at the crease .
Sudharsan & N Jagadeesan (65) set the platform with a 168-run opening stand. #RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/NyF4apNoHU pic.twitter.com/glE7wSxdbY
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) October 18, 2024
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Sudharsan, on the other hand, never looked in a hurry. He was leaving the ball outside the off-stump at ease. He opened his boundary account in the 11th over with a sumptuous push-through mid-off. In the first 20 overs, the Delhi bowlers, who failed to take a wicket, kept everything in check as Tamil Nadu could only muster 64 runs.
However, Delhi which went in with only three frontline bowlers suffered a big setback as their all-rounder Pranshu Vijayran twisted his ankle and hobbled off in the first session.
Sai takes charge
Sudharsan, who was playing the waiting game against the seamers decided to cut loose once Himmat brought left-arm spinner Harsh Tyagi into the attack. Tyagi erred with his lengths and was pulled and cut with disdain by the left-hander. In the next over, Tyagi gave a bit of air and the ball was pierced through the gap between cover and mid-off for a boundary.
Sudharsan completed his fifty off 84 balls with a gentle tap between second slip and gully off Saini’s bowling, which raced to the fence. Sudharsan used his feet against Tyagi beautifully but it was his shot-making through the off-side against Saini and Chauhan, which were impressive. Sudharsan scored 59 per cent of his runs on the off-side — 120 runs — including 15 boundaries and the upper cut against Chauhan, which went for a six. Against pacers, the left-handed batter scored 73 runs but he punished Delhi’s spinners. Against the left-arm spin of Tyagi, Sudharsan hammered 50 runs. Part-timer Mayank Rawat, who bowled 26 overs on his debut was hit for 63 runs.
Sudharsan did get lucky a couple of times. Sudharsan resumed after lunch with back-to-back fours against Tyagi. Off the next ball, Tyagi had his man as Himmat took a sharp catch at slip but the spinner had overstepped. Sudharsan was 70 then.
Then Saini broke the 168-run opening stand as he finally got the wicket of Jagadeesan as the extra bounce saw the Tamil Nadu skipper dragging one back to the stumps.
Sundar makes merry
The wicket of Jagadeesan didn’t bring any relief for the Delhi bowlers. Tamil Nadu promoted Washington Sundar to No. 3 and the all-rounder kept the tempo going.
In his short Test career, Washington has shown a glimpse of his batting prowess. Be it at Gabba or in Chennai or in Ahmedabad time and time again the all-rounder has proved he is a way better batter than a No 8 or No 9. And on Friday, Washington remained unbeaten on 96 as he put on an unbroken 211 runs partnership with Sudharsan.
The cover drives from Washington were pleasing to the eye but it was his check drives down the ground off Saini’s bowling, which took the cake.
Meanwhile, With Gujarat Titans Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki watching the match from the media box, Sudharsan completed a well-deserved double hundred off 249 balls.
For Delhi, barring Saini the bowling looked like a pedestal. Saini, who took the lone wicket that fell on Day 1 was left frustrated when he induced the outside edge of Sudharsan, which flew between wicketkeeper Pranav Rajvanshi and Mayank Rawat at the first slip.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu: 379/1 after 88 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 202 not out, N Jagadeesan 68, Washington Sundar 96 not out).
