Tamil Nadu in commanding position

Tamil Nadu were in a position of considerable strength at stumps on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group C match against Haryana at the Nehru stadium in Gurgaon on Thursday. After dismissing the hosts for 208 runs, Tamil Nadu were 43 without loss at close.

In fact Tamil Nadu were in a position to take a stranglehold very early in the match. For, shortly before lunch, Haryana were 83 for seven. However, an eighth wicket partnership of 102 runs between P. Jain (57) and P Thakur (53) helped Haryana to recover.

Electing to bat, Haryana were rocked by a deadly spell by medium pacer Gokulakrishna and were 24 for three in the tenth over. With skipper Robin Singh taking a hand, wickets fell at regular intervals even though opener Jitender Singh soldiered on to score 40 off 84 balls before he was fifth out. Haryana were down in the dumps at lunch, but Thakur and Jain then retreived their hopes with their gallant association that lasted 32.5 overs. While Jain faced 130 balls and hit seven of them to the ropes, Thakur's 53 was compiled off 110 balls and he hit six fours. Gokulakrishna, who did the early damage took three for 40 while Robin Singh, who wrecked the middle order, had three for 18 from eleven overs. Off spinner Aashish Kapoor chipped in with two for 67 while left arm spinner Sriram, who hastened the end of the innings captured two wickets for four runs off 9.2 overs.

In the remaining ten overs, Tamil Nadu openers Kapoor and Sriram completed a fruitful day for their side by coming in unbeaten. Kapoor was aggressive, hitting five fours in his 34 off 33 deliveries.