Tamil Nadu romps into semifinals

By Our Sports Reporter

CHENNAI, APRIL 3. Tamil Nadu romped into the Ranji Trophy semifinals with a seven-wicket victory over Punjab at the Chidambaram Stadium here on Monday.

The victory was achieved about 45 minutes before tea on the final day which saw a loss of 20 minutes of play in the pre-lunch session owing to an invasion by bees.

Test opener S. Ramesh (77 not out, 264m, 143b, 9x4, 1x6) and skipper S. Sharath (53 not out, 166m, 126b, 5x4, 1x6), left- handers both, fashioned the victory with a 127-run stand after the host lost two early wickets.

Resuming at 30 for one, needing 134 more for victory, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had southpaw Hemang Badani caught behind early.

Mediumpacer Sandeep Sharma struck in the very next over, clipping J.R. Madanagopal's off bail with a delivery that moved a wee back in even as the batsman was leaving the ball.

The host felt the pressure now, for at 40 for three the situation was tricky considering that Punjab was pumped up and a couple of quick wickets then could have tilted the balance. Punjab, for most part, had its seamers operating from one end and off- spinners Harbhajan and Sarandeep, in turn, from the other.

Sharath and Ramesh guided the side through the difficult phase. Once they settled down there was no stopping them. Runs came easily to Ramesh who used his feet and reach to the spinners. He lofted Sarandeep for a straight six and a boundary.

Sharath, a prolific run-getter for the State, was his usual commanding self. He scored the winning runs, pulling Harbhajan for a boundary and a six.

This is Tamil Nadu's second victory in three meetings with Punjab.

The last time they met at the Chidambaram Stadium was in the 1987-88 season, the year the host won the National championship. Last year Punjab won the quarterfinal against Tamil Nadu at home.

Tamil Nadu meets Mumbai in the semifinals starting on April 11 in Mumbai.

The scores:

Punjab - 1st innings: 258.

Tamil Nadu - 1st innings: 461.

Punjab - 2nd innings: 366.

Tamil Nadu - 2nd innings: S. Sriram c Jugnu b R.P. Singh 13, S. Ramesh (not out) 77, Hemang K. Badani c Jugnu b Harbhajan Singh 11, J.R. Madanagopal b Sandeep Sharma 0, S. Sharath (not out) 53. Extras (lb-1, nb-12) 13. Total (for three wkts., 55.2 overs) 167.

Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-39, 3-40.

Punjab bowling: Sandeep Sharma 9-1-24-1, R.P. Singh 9-0-21-1, Harbhajan Singh 21.2-7-58-1, R.S. Sodhi 5-2- 9-0, Sarandeep Singh 8-0-42-0, Yuveraj Singh 3-0-12-0.

* * *

A 'bee break' this time

CHENNAI, APRIL 3. A bee-hive, and a large one at that, was disturbed in the terrace stand, reportedly by one of the spectators.

The next half hour turned to be chaotic with droves of bees swarming the area.

Descending to the pavilion the bees invaded the field of play in pursuit of one of the spectators who ran onto the field in a bid to escape.

The players were quick to react, lying down flat to avoid attracting the bees.

Play was abandoned for a `bee break' and 20 minutes was lost. Interestingly, there had been a `snake adjournment' on the opening day when a reptile had to be guided out of the ground.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Australia posts tenth straight Test win
Next     : Raju leads from the front