Parab notches up century

By Our Special Correspondent

BARODA, MARCH 22. Cricket continues to be a great leveller, reducing aspirations to frustrations, all in the space of one session.

Tamil Nadu bowlers survived an early onslaught by opener Conner Williams to force Baroda on the backfoot on the opening day of the five-day Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match at the Gujarat State Fertilizers Corporation (GSFC) ground.

On a bouncy track, M. Shrinivas (four for 58 off 18 overs) generated pace and lift to trouble the top-order batsmen before spinners Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and Ashish Kapoor tightened the screws.

Baroda, which was reeling at 111 for four after just 32 overs, ended the day at a healthy 285 for eight, with opener Satyajit Parab, who anchored the innings with a 110-run knock, defying the T.N. bowling before being out in the last session. Taking a cue from him, Ajit Bhoite powered his way to an unbeaten 50 (47b).

Parab displayed a preference for the cut and made most of his runs in the region between cover and third man. He had ample time to play his shots, grafting against the medium-pacers and launching into the attack when the spinners came on, lashing 13 boundaries to notch a valuable century off 200 balls.

Tweakers Ashish and Vidyut, bowling in tandem for long spells after lunch, commanded respect from the Baroda batsmen, including Nayan Mongia. Mongia, who came in at the fall of the fourth wicket, played a watchful knock against the spinners, an indication of the turn in the track with four days still to go.

Mongia's fortitude and footwork at the crease, even when a few deliveries of Vidyut turned and jumped, had a positive effect on opener Parab. Earlier, after Baroda decided to bat, left-handed opener Williams entertained the handful of spectators with an uninhibited exhibition of strokeplay to reach a quick- fire 25 (6 x 4) before Kumaran had him edging low into the hands of Madanagopal in the slips.

Shrinivas' pace rattled Jadhav as Baroda slid to 51 for two, the batsman failing to get his bat out of the way in time and the ball taking an inside edge onto the stumps. Baroda skipper Jacob Martin and Tushar Arothe were both snapped up by Ashish.

Mongia joined a watchful Parab at the crease. The two went on to frustrate the TN bowlers by adding 102 for the fifth wicket, taking Baroda's score past the 200-mark. The wicket- keeper faced 132 balls to score just 28 runs, but his 161-minute occupation of the crease not only prevented panic, but also served as a guide for the lower order batsmen like Bhoite to confront an attack which had its tail up for the first two sessions of the day.

The scores:

Baroda - (1st innings): S. Parab b Shrinivas 110, C. Williams c Madanagopal b Kumaran 25, H. Jadhav b Shrinivas 1, J. Martin lbw Ashish 34, T. Arothe c Reuben b Ashish 4, N. Mongia lbw Shrinivas 28, A. Bhoite (batting) 50, Irfan (jr) b Shrinivas 1, R. Patel c & b Mahesh 0, V. Buch (batting) 9, Extras (lb-7, nb-16,) 23. Total (for eight wkts in 90 overs) 285.

Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-51, 3-104, 4- 111, 5-213, 6-218, 7-253, 8-254.

Tamil Nadu bowling: Mahesh 18-3-56-1, Kumaran 15-2-55-1, Vidyut 13-3-45-0, Shrinivas 18-2-58-4, Ashish 20-4-58-2, Sriram 6-1-6-0.

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