Date:26/04/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/04/26/stories/2003042604411800.htm

Sport - Cricket

Tamil Nadu trudges along

By Our Special Correspondent

S. Ramesh of Tamil Nadu drives Delhi's Sarandeep Singh to the fence on the first day of their Ranji Trophy semifinal tie at the Ferozeshah Kotla in New Delhi on Friday.

NEW DELHI APRIL 25. The pitch, the weather and the temperament of the players came into focus at various stages of the contest as Tamil Nadu finished the opening day of the Ranji Trophy semifinals against Delhi at 252 for five.

The Ferozeshah Kotla was a cauldron for most part of the day and became a dusty bowl towards end of the day's play. It reflected in the quality of cricket too. It was never engaging even though Sadagoppan Ramesh toiled to paint a different picture with a workmanlike innings that gave Tamil Nadu enough reason to back itself on a pitch that remained a poor advertisement for the state of affairs.

The bouncy and pacy track one had been given to expect remained an illusion. The ball tended to skid quite a few times and rolled in alarmingly towards the end. So much for a newly laid track with a promise of producing attractive cricket.

Tamil Nadu ought to have emerged with far greater honours but for lapse of concentration that cost S. Sriram and Ramesh so dearly. A reprieve at 37 by Rahul Sanghvi at square-leg off Amit Bhandari had allowed Ramesh to prosper but Delhi gained only in the last session when two wickets saw the Tamil Nadu dressing room rock.

The toss was an encouraging factor for Tamil Nadu and more was the success of the move to promote Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan. The last time he played against Delhi, the left-hander cracked a century batting at number 11. Today, he strode out as opener with Ramesh. The attack, with the exception of Sanjay Gill, held little threat until Vidyut swung an innocuous ball to long leg.

Delhi was now in for a tough time with Ramesh and Sriram together. The bowlers struggled to make an impression as Sriram grew in confidence and Ramesh built on with his usual flair, driving with excellent timing and placement. Sriram looked set for a long stay but a casual stroke signalled his exit.

Tamil Nadu needed a big partnership and skipper S. Suresh, looking very compact, promised one with Ramesh but Delhi earned his scalp from a mistimed drive. All this while Ramesh played the waiting game, much against his batting character.

Ramesh's disciplined approach was an outstanding feature even as Hemang Badani gave glimpses of his class in a tidy knock, flawless all the way. Ramesh indulged in casual strokeplay a couple of times but recovered his composure in Tamil Nadu's interest. His end, however, was tame, when he swung at the ball a trifle early to spoon an easy catch. His 244-ball essay with 12 fours was an admirable demonstration of his commitment.

Badani looked in excellent nick and did not give the Delhi attack even a semblance of a chance. His eight boundaries came from confident shots in a wide range and stood out for their quality. Even as Tamil Nadu lost S. Sharath cheaply to the new ball, the team's hopes rested on Badani, who gave no hint of any discomfort during his 99-ball performance.

For the home team, Gill was the outstanding bowler. His five-over spell in the second session at the peak of heat showed the bowler's endurance. His two wickets, both crucial, also showed the tall medium-pacer's ability to bowl a consistent line. The rest, despite left-arm spinner Sanghvi picking two wickets, just did not measure up to the expectations.

The scores:

Tamil Nadu_1st innings: Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan c Negi b Bhandari 27, S. Ramesh c Bhandari b Gill 82, S. Sriram c A. Chopra b Sanghvi 33, S. Suresh c Bhandari b Sanghvi 35, Hemang Badani (batting) 48, S. Sharath lbw b Gill 6, Vasanth Saravanan (batting) 1, Extras (b-2, lb-6, nb-10, w-2) 20, Total (for five wkts) 252.

Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-101, 3-163, 4-228, 5-244.

Delhi bowling: Amit Bhandari 19-5-50-1, Sanjay Gill 17-5-44-2, N.S. Negi 9-3-36-0, Sarandeep Singh 20-4-52-0, Rahul Sanghvi 12-3-26-2, Virender Sehwag 10-2-27-0, Mithun Manhas 3-0-9-0.