Washington, Pradosh tons lift Tamil Nadu to record total against Delhi

Washington, Pradosh tons lift Tamil Nadu to record total against Delhi

Tamil Nadu piled on the runs for a second successive day to amass a total of 674 for six declared — its highest-ever against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy — at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday. Washington Sundar and Pradosh Ranjan Paul’s centuries were the highlights on day two against a Delhi bowling unit short of firepower.

In response, Delhi was 43 for no loss at stumps.

In Saturday’s opening session, pacers Navdeep Saini and Himanshu Chauhan were a bit more probing with their lengths, and were rewarded with two wickets inside 15 overs — more than Delhi had managed through the entirety of day one. B. Sai Sudharsan was dismissed by Saini after adding 11 runs to his overnight score of 202 — a glance down the leg side resulted in an edge to the wicketkeeper — while B. Indrajith played a length ball by Chauhan onto the stumps.

But Washington and Pradosh swiftly reinforced Tamil Nadu’s advantage with a 92-run partnership off 150 deliveries. Once Saini and Chauhan were away from the attack after their initial spells, Delhi’s spinners struggled to build any pressure. Ones and twos were milked with ease, and the boundaries too came at fairly regular intervals. That the 87.4 overs bowled between off-spinner Mayank Rawat and left-arm spinner Harsh Tyagi yielded just the lone wicket of M. Shahrukh Khan encapsulated their ineffectiveness.

Having resumed the day on 96, Washington moved from 99 to 103 for his second First-Class ton with an edge between second slip and gully for four. At other times, Washington’s shots were laced with a touch of class, a nod to his batting pedigree particularly in the longer format.

Pradosh also played a leading hand in Tamil Nadu’s colossal total. He was nimble-footed against the spinners, often stepping out of the crease and piercing the infield to find the boundary. Andre Siddarth, in his second First-Class game, chipped in with an unbeaten 66.

The scores: