Sriram pilots Tamil Nadu to win

Opener Sridharan Sriram took Tamil Nadu to a five-wicket win in their Ranji one-day match against Kerala at Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.

Winning the toss, Kerala opted to bat first. A 53-run opening stand seemed to have justified captain Sunil Oasis' decision, but things then started to go wrong. Three quick wickets saw Kerala reeling at 56/3 before Oasis and SR Nair took matters into their own hands.

Oasis top-scored for his side, making 66 off 84 balls. After Nair departed, he was given good support by K Chandrasekhara, who scored 56 off 71. The two shared a 106-run fifth-wicket partnership and took Kerala past the 200-run mark. Their side ended on 238/7.

To score 239 for a win, Tamil Nadu benefited from a 91-run second-wicket stand between Sriram and S Suresh. Suresh made 40 off 63, while Sriram scored 76 off 94, his highest in the competition. He was the fourth wicket to fall, at 146, but useful knocks from Robin Singh, SV Saravanan and J Madanagopal took Tamil Nadu to their target in 47.4 overs.