Opener K.T.A. Madhava Prasad (72, 164b, 5x4, 1x6), skipper M. Shahrukh Khan (60, 48b, 8x4, 2x6), and left-hander Nidhish S. Rajagopal (90, 144b, 10x4, 1x6) helped TNCA XI to get to 344 for nine and claim an 126-run first-innings lead over Kerala on day two of their Group-D match in the TNCA Buchi Babu Memorial All India invitational cricket tournament at the India Cement Company ground here on Wednesday.
Shahrukh Khan’s typical breezy innings meant 79 runs were accumulated off just 96 balls for the third-wicket partnership between him and Madhava Prasad. On a second-day wicket that still offered carry for the pacers, Shahrukh Khan was severe on the short balls — his two sixes came off the pull shot.
Nidhish was involved in a 69-run fourth-wicket stand with Madhava Prasad and a 78-run seventh-wicket union with Jhathavedh Subramanyan (25, 95b, 2x4).
After the day’s play, Nidhish said that the wicket had begun deteriorating in the course of his innings. There’s a pronounced rough patch around the left-hander’s fifth-stump on a good length at the pavilion end that the spinners might try and exploit. Kerala has five left-handers in its batting line-up.
“Our spinners will come in handy. To bat last on this wicket, will be tricky,” said Nidhish.
Missing out on hitting a hundred, he said: “When you play in such a good tournament and you miss out playing a big innings, it’s obviously disappointing. You want to hit good first-innings hundreds for your team. So, yes, obviously, a bit sad that I missed out. But it’s a fairly long tournament.”
The scores (day two): At Tirunelveli: Kerala 218 vs. TNCA XI 344/9 in 100 overs (K.T.A. Madhava Prasad 72, M. Shahrukh Khan 60, Nidhish S. Rajagopal 90).
At Dindigul: Baroda 339 in 121.4 overs (Jyotsnil Singh 114, Priyanshu Moliya 51, Vishnu Solanki 82, Mahesh Pithiya 44, Jayant Yadav 5/112) vs Haryana 63 in 35.3 overs (Baba Safikhan Pathan 6/10) & Haryana 87/2 in 20 overs (Yuvraj Singh 50 batting).
At Salem: Mumbai 619/7 decl. in 160 overs (Musheer Khan 113, Prasad Pawar 72, Hardik Tamore 205 n.o., Tanush Kotian 73, Atharva Ankolekar 84) vs Delhi 47/2 in 16 overs.
