Sriram's century puts Tamil Nadu in good position

Tamil Nadu riding on a fluent century by opener S Sriram, posted a healthy 325/5d from 100 overs on the third day of their South Zone Ranji trophy match against Andhra Pradesh here at the Guru Nanak College ground in Chennai.

The match was affected by rains, the second day being called off without a ball being bowled. Umpires Adil Palai and Vilas Bandiwedgar called off play yesterday after making three inspections. They made two inspections on the third day, the first one at 9.45 am and the second at 10.45. After the second inspection, the umpires decided to take an early lunch and begin the match at 12.30 pm.

Sriram (119) and Hemang Badani (51) put on a 116 run partnership for the second wicket, before Badani was dismissed by Nekkanti Madhukar. Sriram struck eight boundaries and three sixes in his 207 ball innings whereas Badani hit four boundaries from 107 deliveries. Sadagopan Mahesh stroked his way to an unbeaten 77, with three hits to the boundary and an equal number of hits over it. Reuben Paul (38) and S Badrinath (31) added valuable contributions to the total. Yadali Ranganath bagged two wickets with his offspinners.

Andhra openers, Amit Pathak (17) and Prasad Reddy (8), batted for nine overs before bad light called off play. Andhra were 25 for no loss at the end of the third day.