Published: Dec 09, 2016, 09:50 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 09, 2016, 09:50 PM (IST)
At stumps on the third day in Group A clash, Tamil Nadu are ahead by 90 runs in their first innings with 6 wickets in hand against Gujarat. Tamil Nadu are 397 for 4 in their first innings in response replying to Gujarat’s first innings total of 307. Abhinav Mukund might have missed out on a deserving century when he was dismissed for 99 on Day Two, but Kaushik Gandhi went on to notch up a big score. Gandhi was unbeaten on 150 off 439 balls, studded with 20 boundaries. With such a dominant batting performance, Tamil Nadu are all set to gain crucial 3 points with a first-innings lead.
Earlier in the match, played at Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Stadium in Belgavi, Gujarat were bolstered by a century from Priyank Kirit Panchal, who scored 113 to help his side post a total of 307. Gujarat captain Akshar Patel contributed with 44, but on a batting-friendly wicket where Tamil Nadu batsmen have made merry, the rest of the batsmen in Gujarat flopped. There were many who got starts but failed to make strong marks. On the other hand, Tamil Nadu also had Baba Aparajith scoring 66, which came off 162 balls with 10 boundaries.
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Dinesh Karthik was unfortunate as he missed out on scoring some valuable runs on this wicket. He batted for 35 balls and struck 3 boundaries but could not go past 18. At stumps, Vijay Shankar was batting on 35 alongside Gandhi. Shankar scored 35 not out off 86 balls, which included five boundaries.
If Gujarat save the match, they will get a crucial point to reach 26. In that case Tamil Nadu will also finish on 26, which will ensure both of them qualify along with Mumbai (it is unlikely that Madhya Pradesh will beat Bengal by an innings). If Tamil Nadu win the match outright and Punjab beat Mumbai by an innings, however, Gujarat will be knocked out. All in all, we have an exciting day’s cricket ahead of us.
Brief scores:
Gujarat 307 (Priyank Panchal 113, Akshar Patel 44; T Natarajan 3 for 86, Aswin Crist 2 for 55) trail Tamil Nadu 397 for 4 (Abhinav Mukund 99, Kaushik Gandhi 150*, Baba Aparajith 66, Vijay Shankar 35*; Rush Kalaria 2 for 47) by 90 runs.
