Ramesh, Sharath steer Tamil Nadu to victory

Left handers Sadagoppan Ramesh and skipper Sridharan Sharath, with an unbeaten fourth wicket partnership of 127 runs off 34.3 overs, steered Tamil Nadu to a seven wicket victory over Punjab in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Monday. Tamil Nadu now take on oft crowned champions Mumbai in the semifinal, commencing in Mumbai from April 11.

Tamil Nadu, who were 30 for one wicket at close of play on Sunday, required another 134 runs to win. It did seem an easy task but the early fall of Hemang Badani and JR Madanagopal set them back a bit. The left handed Badani was caught behind by Jagnu off Harbhajan Singh for 11 while Madanagopal was bowled by Sandeep Sharma for nought in the following over.

As Sarath joined Ramesh, Punjab had fought back commendably. But amidst the tension filled atmosphere, the two experienced players exhibited all their skill to combat the situation. Harbhajan, the danger man was given a long spell by Vikram Rathour but both Ramesh and Sarath batted carefully on a wicket that was still playing well.

Gradually, however the batsmen got on top as the bowlers wilted in the heat. In the post lunch session, as Ramesh and Sarath became more confident, the Punjab team turned desperate and there were frequent appeals. Ramesh lifted the tension by hitting a couple of lofted boundaries and Sarath too joined in with some rasping cuts to the ropes. The siege was lifted and by mid-afternoon, the runs came more freely. Ramesh lofted Sharandeep Singh for a straight six and with the few hundred spectators cheering the home team on, the victory was hastened by Sarath too stroking the ball freely. Indeed, it was the Tamil Nadu captain who finished the match off in style with successive shots for four and six off Harbhajan Singh. Ramesh who batted in exemplary fashion for 264 minutes, faced 144 balls and hit nine fours, besides the six. Sarath batted 166 minutes, faced 126 balls and hit five fours, besides the winning six.