Gopalan Trophy: Sriram's ton props up Tamil Nadu

A hundred from Sridharan Sriram and a half-century from C Hemanth Kumar saw Tamil Nadu reach 261 for five at the end of the first day's play against the Colombo Districts Cricket Association (CDCA) XI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu captain Robin Singh won the toss and elected to bat. S Suresh, who came out with Sriram, was dismissed after he had only made 15.

Hemanth Kumar, who came in at one-down, settled nicely. In the company of Sriram, he put on 109 runs as the Sri Lankan bowlers struggled. Hemanth made 55 with eight fours before CDCA captain Thilan Samaraweera had him stumped.

Sriram then found a good ally in JR Madanagopal. The pair began to milk the CDCA bowling, and Sriram reached his 100 off 196 balls with five fours, only to be bowled by Sri Lanka leg-spinner Upul Chandana without scoring an additional run.

Madanagopal's vigil ended after he had made 43, as he also fell to Chandana. MR Shrinivas, who came in as the nightwatchman, was also dismissed; Tamil Nadu, thus, suddenly lost the advantage that they had so painstakingly built up.

What will give them heart, though, is the fact that their two senior players - S Sharath and Robin Singh - are at the crease. Robin is batting on 11 off 12 balls while Sharath is on 17 off 38 balls.