Vice-captain Pradosh Ranjan Paul and Vijay Shankar completed their hundreds as Tamil Nadu stood in a position of dominance against Assam at stumps on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Wednesday.
Pradosh (153 off 212 balls, 16 fours), who began the day on 99, struck his third century of the Ranji season while Vijay Shankar (112 off 187 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) scored a ton for a third consecutive match before the home team suffered a collapse to be bowled out for 540. In response, Assam was 120 for four at close of play, still behind by 420 runs.
Pradosh and Vijay Shankar picked up from where they left off on the opening day as the left-right combination continued with its attacking approach in the first session. Pradosh found the fence five times on the day and crossed the 150-run mark, but off-spinner Riyan Parag (4/101) castled his stumps to end the 263-run fifth-wicket partnership.
There was double delight for the visiting team as Parag trapped incoming batter Shahrukh Khan (0) leg before wicket off the very next delivery. Skipper R Sai Kishore’s (0) stay at the crease was short-lived too as he was dismissed by left-arm spinner Siddharth Sarmah (3/107), with Tamil Nadu moving from 499 for four to 500 for seven in a span of just two overs.
Just before the Tamil Nadu batters began to fall like a pack of cards, Vijay Shankar, who is on a comeback trail, brought up his century, another well deserved one. Assam cleaned up the tail quickly, but Tamil Nadu had already posted a big total on the board, one that is expected to be sufficient to secure at least the first innings lead.
Pacer H Trilok Nag (1/16) and left-arm spinner S Ajith Ram (2/41) caused early damage before Parag (48 off 78 balls, 9 fours) produced a good fight but missed out on a fifty.
BRIEF SCORES: Tamil Nadu 540 in 132.3 overs (Pradosh Ranjan Paul 153, Narayan Jagadeesan 125, Vijay Shankar 112, Baba Indrajith 77, Riyan Parag 4/101, Siddharth Sarmah 3/107) vs Assam 120/4 in 45 overs (Riyan Parag 48)
