Ranji trophy: Tamil Nadu in big trouble

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The tale was all familiar for Tamil Nadu. In pursuit of a mammoth target the hosts were in big trouble having lost three quick wickets for 66 runs on day three of the Ranji Trophy final. The famed top-order was reduced to mere paper strength as they failed to cope with mounting pressure.

Abhinav Mukund made the cardinal error of playing across the line on a slow wicket and was duly trapped by Rituraj Singh.

The body blow came when bulwark, S. Badrinath fell while attempting a similar shot off Pankaj Singh.

The innings was reduced to rubbles when M. Vijay's airy flick landed safely at mid-wicket. The fourth wicket pair K. Shri Vasudeva Das and K. Dinesh Karthik held fort to add 42 unbeaten runs to provide lean hope.

Full credit to the Rajasthan seamers for getting the ball to move off the seam, courtesy a fuller length.

Earlier resuming at 404 for two, Rajasthan continued to pile on the agony. Vineet Saxena carried on with his record breaking ways and added a further 50 (257, 662b, 26x4, 2x6) before finally missing a straight ball from Aushik Srinivas while trying to play square with an angled bat. The 907-minute marathon was the second longest innings in the history of Indian first-class cricket.

The urgency in the first hour was a refreshing change from the dour methods adopted on the first two days.

TN had to start with the new ball (100 overs) and that proved beneficial for both Saxena and Robin Bist who enjoyed the ball coming on to the bat at a faster clip.

Yo Mahesh going around the wicket did not help matters for TN as they searched desperately for a wicket. Vasudeva Das reacted late when Saxena failed to keep a square cut down off J. Kaushik.

The third wicket stand between Bist and Saxena produced 123 runs. The first hour produced 46 runs and the positive intent hinted at declaration at some point during the day.

Even as the batsmen continued without any trouble, there was no let up in accuracy from spinner Aushik Srinivas.

The youngster deserves high praise for showing enormous stamina and the willingness to bowl a long spell. Aushik bowled a total of 85 overs and had four wickets to show for his efforts.

Balaji erred in not providing Aushik with enough protection on the on side when the bowler was operating from around the wicket. With boundaries coming easily, it was all that more difficult for the hosts to keep Rajasthan under a manageable total. The first session saw an addition of 102 runs and that period placed the visitors firmly in the ascendancy.

The breakthrough for TN arrived when Bist was snapped at square leg off Sunny Gupta and TN managed to claw back into the game by picking three quick wickets including that of Saxena.

Yo Mahesh pulled off an excellent catch at mid-wicket to dismiss Dishant Yagnik. The tally was 518 for six and TN had a realistic chance keeping the score under 550 but the long handle of Pankaj defused such hopes.

Rituraj with RR Parida for company added vital runs to take the score past 600 before J. Kaushik terminated the innings with three quick wickets.

With a minimum of 205 overs to bat, TN had to manage a run rate of 2.53 runs per over (without getting all out) for that period. The primary target is 520 and even that looks a mountain to climb.