Vimal Khumar’s stubborn knock of 144 (293b, 10x4, 2x6) helped TNCA President’s XI declare its innings at 333 for nine and take a marginal six-run first innings lead against Indian Railways on the penultimate day of the Buchi Babu invitation cricket tournament here on Thursday.
Resuming at 179 for five, the hosts lost an early wicket, but Vimal, in the company of M. Mohammed, showed tremendous patience to help the team gain the lead. It was certainly a difficult task considering Railways’ quality attack.
Railways did not allow the left-right combination to score freely. After showing immense concentration for nearly one and half-hours, Mohammed finally cover-drove left-arm spinner Akash Pandey to the fence. It took 110 balls for the pair to score the first boundary, but it certainly increased the confidence level of the batters.
