Ranji Trophy: With fighting 80, Tamil Nadu’s Baba Indrajith continues to knock on Indian team’s doors

During his 206 minutes stay in the middle, the only occasion Baba Indrajith’s bat came in violent contact with anything was when he punched it with his right hand after offering a return catch to Dharmendrasinh Jadeja.

Right through his 139-ball innings, no batsman looked as fluent as Indrajith did.

A score of 80 looked every bit short of a score he personally had in mind, but on a slow, two-paced pitch, it was worth a three-figure knock. The disappointment of missing out on a century in a Ranji Trophy knockout that would put him on the selectors’ radar was evident, but this was a knock that helped Tamil Nadu retain control of their quarterfinal against Saurashtra.

Apart from Indrajith, a well-crafted 65 from Boopathi Vaishna Kumar and a fighting 60 from R Sai Kishore at No 3 meant Tamil Nadu comfortably overtook Saurashtra’s first innings total of 183, and at stumps on Day 2, were placed 300/6. With Vijay Shankar and Mohammad Ali still in the middle, Tamil Nadu are aiming for a lead of at least 150 on Day 3 at the SNR College grounds here. With the cracks already opening up and the odd ball shooting low, defending champions Saurashtra have a real job on their hands to pull back control of the game.