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Tamil Nadu beat Punjab by 9 wickets, pocket six points.
A thumping victory for hosts Tamil Nadu has seen them progress to the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24. Punjab failed to add too many runs on the fourth morning with Nehal Wadhera dismissed for 109 as Pradosh Ranjan Paul trapped him in front. The three spinners - Paul, S Ajith Ram and skipper R Sai Kishore - shared all ten wickets between them as Punjab were bowled out for 231, leaving the hosts with just 71 runs to chase. It was T20 mode alone thereafter as Narayan Jagadeesan (26*) and Paul (22*) got the job done in seven overs after S Lokeshwar perished for a breezy 19. With their fourth win of the season, Tamil Nadu have secured a well-deserved berth in the quarters.
Stumps on Day 3 - Punjab 180/4 (f/o), lead Tamil Nadu by 19 runs in the 2nd innings.
S Ajith Ram's five-wicket haul saw Tamil Nadu bowl Punjab out for 274 in their first innings as they managed to secure a lead that was enough to enforce the follow-on. While wicket-keeper Anmol Malhotra remained unbeaten on 64 in the first essay, it was Nehal Wadhera's turn to produce a counter-attacking masterclass, racing off the blocks to an unbeaten 103 off 101 balls in the second innings with Punjab reduced to 38/3 after Abhishek Sharma's 16-ball 36-run blitz. Given Gujarat's negative net run-rate though despite their win over Goa, all Tamil Nadu need to do is ensure they don't lose the game in order to seal a berth in the quarterfinals.
Stumps on Day 2 - Punjab 141/4, trail Tamil Nadu by 294 runs in the 1st innings.
The fifth wicket stand between Baba Indrajith (187) and Vijay Shankar (130) was worth 281 runs as Tamil Nadu piled up 435 batting first in Salem. Sukhwinder Singh was the pick of the bowlers for Punjab as he finished with 4/99, post which the visitors stuttered with the bat, losing four wickets for 141 as Nehal Wadhera (43) and Anmolpreet Singh (41) failed to convert their starts. Skipper Mandeep Singh (30*) and Anmol Malhotra (3*) are now tasked with playing spoilsport as far as Tamil Nadu's qualification hopes are concerned.
Stumps on Day 1 - Tamil Nadu 291/4 in the 1st innings.
From 107/4, Tamil Nadu recovered brilliantly as they rode on a stellar partnership between Baba Indrajith (122*) and Vijay Shankar (85*) after opting to bat first in Salem. In what is a contest that Tamil Nadu will want to win to keep their fate in their own hands, they were guilty of throwing away starts with Sukhwinder Singh bagging two wickets for Punjab. On the back of this stellar ongoing partnership though, the hosts will look to dictate terms again tomorrow morning.
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SCF Cricket Ground, Salem
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