Coimbatore
Sai Sudharsan is a pure. The ease with which he picks the size, his stability, a nonetheless head each in offence and defence, decisive footwork and the style he coaxes the ball by the gaps, replicate his glittering qualities.
A left-hander with all the best attributes, the 21-year-old Sudharsan adopted up his 179 on debut for Tamil Nadu in opposition to Hyderabad with a beautiful, free-flowing 113 (180b, 10×4) in opposition to Andhra on day two of Ranji Trophy duel on the Ramakrishna College floor right here on Wednesday.
And Tamil Nadu, establishing a platform for a victory push on day 4, was 273 for 4 in 77 overs of batting.
Quick strikes
Earlier, the Tamil Nadu bowlers made quick work of Andhra within the morning, selecting up the final 5 wickets for 20 runs with the second new ball on a floor with bounce and carry.
Intent and depth are linked by a typical thread — Effort. The Coimbatore pitch provides assist in the morning — there may be carry and seam motion — and each the deceptively sharp L. Vignesh and Sandeep Warrier bowled with rhythm and venom.
Once the bowlers hit the straps, the onus was on the house batters.
Opener Sudharsan assumed centrestage. His accomplice, the in-form N. Jagadeesan, struck a couple of weighty blows in his 35 (37b, 5×4) earlier than nicking seamer Okay.V. Sasikanth.
Different strokes
Then, Sudharsan and B. Aparajith added 163 in 286 balls for the second wicket; a rollicking partnership of various strokes by totally different blokes.
While the elegant Sudharsan timed the ball on each side, sending fielders on a leather-based hunt, Aparajith (88, 193b, 7×4, 2×6) struck some hefty blows and ran arduous between wickets.
Sudharsan fell, caught by Sheikh Rasheed at mid-on off left-arm spinner Lalith Mohan.
Eventually, in pursuit of fast runs and unmindful of an approaching century, Aparajith was held on long-on off Lalith Mohan.
Injury fear
There was harm fear too for Andhra.
The wiry Warrier dug one into B. Ayappa and Pradosh Ranjan Paul plucked a reflex catch at short-leg. Later x-rays revealed a hairline fracture. Ayappa bowled simply three overs earlier than leaving the sector.
The scores:
Andhra — 1st innings: Abhishek Reddy c Sai Sudharsan b Warrier 85, U.M.S. Girinath c Indrajith b Sai Kishore 3, Sheikh Rasheed b Ajith 37, Hanuma Vihari c Ajith b Vijay Shankar 21, Ricky Bhui st Jagadeesan b Sai Kishore 68, Karan Shinde c Jagadeesan b Vignesh 55, Okay.V. Sasikanth lbw b Warrier 4, Ntiish Kumar Reddy c Jagadeesan b Vignesh 1, Shoaib Md. Khan c Indrajith b Sai Kishore 18, B. Ayyappa c Pradosh b Warrier 0, Lalith Mohan (not out) 0; Extras (lb-1, nb-1, w-3): 5; Total (in 100.1 overs): 297.
Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-125, 3-148, 4-153, 5-272, 6-277, 7-279, 8-279, 9-281.
Tamil Nadu bowling: Vignesh 14-2-46-2, Warrier 24-6-64-3, Sai Kishore 25.1-4-73-3, Washington 17-2-46-0, Ajith 14-2-41-1, Vijay Shankar 3-1-7-1, Aparajith 3-0-19-0.
Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: B. Sai Sudharsan c Rasheed b Lalith 113, N. Jagadeesan c Girinath b Sasikanth 35, B. Aparajith c Nitish b Lalith 88, B. Indrajith c Shoaib b Nitish 12, Washington Sundar (batting) 7, Vijay Shankar (batting) 0; Extras (b-5, lb-9, w-4): 18; Total (for 4 wkts. in 77 overs): 273.
Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-228, 3-254, 4-273.
Andhra bowling: Ayappa 3-0-13-0, Sasikanth 18-1-70-1, Lalith 31-2-104-2, Nitish 13-2-33-1, Shoaib 12-2-39-0.
