FIND OF THE SEASON: M. Vijay, during the course of his century against Baroda, went past 500 runs in his maiden Ranji season. — Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu's M. Vijay scored 121 to orchestrate a splendid comeback in skipper S. Badrinath's presence on day two of the final round Ranji Trophy Super League match against Baroda.

But, Tamil Nadu's response - resuming on Thursday on a precarious 13 for two, 250 behind Baroda - was tarnished a tad in the last hour when it lost three wickets to finish at 267 for six. It leads by four.

S. Sharath (18) and S. Vidyut (2) watched out the final tense moments, after Irfan Pathan uprooted R. Sathish's off-stump with the second new ball.

Excellent technique

Earlier, Vijay and Badrinath batted together for 69 overs to put on 174 precious runs. On an ICL-Guru Nanak track that continued to ask uncomfortable questions through the day, the pair displayed excellent defensive technique against the turning ball, but more crucially never let up on opportunities to score.

Vijay, who passed 500 runs in his maiden Ranji season this innings, metered his concentration for over six hours in his 280-ball knock. The 22-year-old appears a well-organised batsman. He knows his scoring areas, and doesn't exceed his brief.

Vijay's method against spin on Thursday consisted of kicking away good-length deliveries, and waiting for anything marginally short. On many an occasion, he rocked back to further shorten the length, left-armer Rajesh Pawar's turn created the width, and Vijay had the conditions requisite for the cut.

The Tamil Nadu opener went from 96 to 102 with a quick sashay to Bhoite's off-spin followed by an easy swing over long on.

Vijay was given out, caught at backward short-leg 20 minutes before close, though he was clearly displeased with the decision.

Perfect placements

Badrinath's 89 was an innings of substantial quality. His placement — particularly in finding the gap between extra-cover and mid-off — stood out. To one delivery that kicked off a good length, he adjusted his hands and helped it over slip.

Hemang Badani, who replaced Badrinath, looked to take charge after tea, hitting Pawar for three boundaries. There are few prettier sights than his cover drive, and the left-hander obligingly leant into one. But, a conceived cut was beaten by the pace of a Yousuf Pathan flatter ball from around the wicket.

Badani's dismissal allowed Baroda back into a game that has seen several momentum shifts. An intriguing Friday beckons.

The scores:

Baroda — 1st innings: 263.

Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: D. Karthik (run out) 1, M. Vijay c Martin b Y. Pathan 121, R. Prasanna b I. Pathan 0, S. Badrinath c Martin b Y. Pathan 89, H. Badani b Y. Pathan 19, S. Sharath (batting) 18, R. Sathish b I. Pathan 7, S. Vidyuth (batting) 2, Extras (b-6, lb-3, nb-1) 10; Total (for six wickets in 102 overs) 267.

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-3, 3-177, 4-221, 5-248, 6-261.

Baroda bowling: I. Pathan 18-2-39-2, R. Patel 14-4-25-0, R. Pawar 22-6-68-0, Y. Pathan 29-7-64-3, A. Bhoite 19-5-62-0.

Other scores:

At Kolkata: Rajasthan 193 vs Bengal 465 for four in 119 overs (S.G. Das 82, A.A. Jhunjhunwala 115, M. Tiwary 152 batting, S. Ganguly 72 batting).

At Rohtak: Delhi 382 in 103 overs (R. Bhatia 90, A. Chopra 84, V. Sehwag 106, A. Mishra four for 80) vs Haryana 113 in 48.2 overs (S. Rana 54) & 105 for six in 24 overs (C. Nanda four for 51).

At Hyderabad: Punjab 142 & 145 for five in 41 overs (P. Dharmani 70 batting) vs Hyderabad 251 in 82 overs (V.V.S. Laxman 76, A.S. Yadav 40, V.R.V. Singh four for 79).

At Nasik: Mumbai 515 for eight decl. in 137.2 overs (S.O. Kukreja 114, W. Jaffer 78, H.N. Shah 112, A. Nair 88) vs Maharashtra 99 for four in 37 overs (H.H. Khadiwale 54).

At Rajkot: Karnataka 570 in 156.5 overs (Y. Goud 171 not out, R.R. Bhatkal 42, R. Uthappa 108, C. Raghu 83, R. Dravid 56) vs Saurashtra 103 for no loss in 23 overs (S.D. Jogiyani 62 batting).

At Kanpur: Andhra 111 & 65 for six in 31.5 overs vs Uttar Pradesh 346 in 94.5 overs (S. Raina 54, Ravikant Shukla 54, P. Kumar 41, Amir Khan 70)

Plate League (semifinals):

At Dharamsala: Railways 229 in 98 overs (S. Sanyal 52 not out, T.P. Singh 54, V. Bhatia six for 57) vs Himachal Pradesh 151 for three in 84 overs (Sandeep Sharma 68).

At Cuttack: Assam 235 in 105.1 overs (Tarjinder Singh 43, Nishant Bordoloi 40, Debasis Mohanty five for 66) vs Orissa 186 for seven in 66 overs (Niranjan Behera 57).

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