Badrinath helps Tamil Nadu post a fighting total

A sedate 247 ball century by opener S Badrinath helped Tamil Nadu reach 284 for 6 on the opening day of their South Zone Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka at the IIT-Chemplast Ground in Chennai on Wednesday.

Opting to bat, Tamil Nadu suffered a setback at the very beginning. Off the first ball of the day Dodda Ganesh trapped Rajat Bhatia leg before. But recent India cap, Hemang Badani (76) joined Badrinath (100) and made an excellent recovery, adding 125 runs for the second wicket in 36.5 overs. Badani was the next to be dismissed when he offered a chance to Sujith Somasundar off Ganesh.

Then Badrinath was accompanied by S Sharath (43) till the 72nd over in which they accumulated 95 runs for the third wicket. Dharmichand then sent back Badrinath, after a 295 minute stay at the centre. His dismissal triggered a mini collapse as Sharath, R Sathish (11) and Reuben Paul (12) departed in quick succession. Skipper Robin Singh (25) and S Mahesh (4) saw the team through to stumps. Seamer Dodda Ganesh (4 for 70) was the pick of the bowlers.