Match drawn after a day’s play

IN FULL FLOW: Gujarat opener Priyank Panchal was in superb form against Tamil Nadu on the final day of the Ranji Trophy on Thursday. Photo: Rayan Rozario

Priyank Panchal and Bhargav Merai put on a century partnership

A 158-run stand between Priyank Panchal (90)and Bhargav Merai (68 not out) was the only bright spot of the drawn Ranji Trophy encounter between Tamil Nadu and Gujarat at the ICL Sankar Nagar grounds here on Thursday.

The morning session tested the mental strength of the players as they had to wait for a couple of hours for the match officials to signal the start.

And at 11.15 they did and the players heaved a sigh of relief.

The hosts’ skipper, Abhinav Mukund, called the coin right and put the visitors to bat on a pitch that had some moisture. It worked right as off-spinner Malolan Rangarajan bowled a ball that seemed to turn viciously in the ninth over.

Parthiv Patel, the Gujarat skipper, who played patiently till then got a bit baffled by the turn and offered a regulation catch to B. Aparajith at slips.

From there, Priyank and Bhargav built the innings brick by brick. The duo played fluently and punished the loose deliveries.

Abhinav kept rotating his bowlers but struggled to stop the free-flowing duo. The century-stand between the two came in 185 balls and in a little more than two hours of hard work in the hot sun.

Vijay Shankar was greeted by the crowd with cheers when he came on to bowl during the second session after lunch.

The medium pacer, who has his roots in Tirunelveli, increased the pace and mixed his deliveries in a bid to break the partnership but in vain.

After a tiring session in the middle for the bowlers and with both Dinesh Karthik and J. Kousik out due to injuries quite soon, left-arm spinner D.T. Chandrasekar got the big break and the prized wicket of Priyank. The latter gave a catch to substitute Aswin Crist at mid-off for 90. And five overs later the declaration came.

Priyank pleased

Priyank, who has been in good form this season, was pleased with his performance.

“It was my responsibility to take the team through after we lost Parthiv. And, I am glad I did that.”

“The wicket was challenging but I enjoyed playing in it. We got some batting and it is good for us going into the final league match,” he said.

The scores:

Gujarat — 1st innings: Parthiv Patel c B. Aparjith b Malolan Rangarajan 14, Priyank Panchal c Aswin Crist (sub) b D.T. Chandrasekhar 90, Bhargav Merai (not out) 68, Manpreet Juneja (not out) 9; Extras (b-13, lb-1): 14; Total (for two wkts. decl. in 63 overs): 195.

Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-180.

Tamil Nadu bowling: J. Kousik 5-2-8-0, Rahil Shah 19-3-62-0, Malolan Rangarajan 17-2-39-1, D.T. Chandrasekhar 15-2-42-1, B. Aparajith 1-0-10-0, Vijay Shankar 3-0-13-0, R. Sathish 1-0-1-0, Abhinav Mukund 2-0-6-0.