Suresh Raina Shines as Uttar Pradesh Earn Three Points vs Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy
Suresh Raina hit 145 not out for Uttar Pradesh to set Tamil Nadu a target of 391 in their Ranji Trophy clash. In reply, Tamil Nadu posted 212 for four on the fourth and final day as the match ended in a draw.
Owing to their first innings lead, Uttar Pradesh grabbed three points against Tamil Nadu after their Group B match ended in a draw at the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament here on Wednesday.
Abhinav Mukund (71) and Baba Aparajith (71) shared a 135-run opening partnership to help Tamil Nadu post 212 for four in their second innings on the fourth and final day while chasing UP's 391 at Green Park here. On Day 3, skipper Suresh Raina had smashed an unbeaten 145 as Uttar Pradesh declared their second innings on 273 for five.
Resuming their second innings at 5 for no loss, Tamil Nadu rode on the opening partnership between Mukund and Aparajith. While the former cracked 10 boundaries, Aparajith hit eight fours.
Skipper Mukund was the first to be dismissed when he was caught by Dwivedi off Rajpoot's bowling. Aparajith and new man Dinesh Karthik (38) then tried to stitch a partnership before the former was removed by Saurabh Kumar in the 67th over.
Saurabh then got rid of V Shankar (0) in his next over as Tamil Nadu slipped to 171 for three. Once B Indrajith (21) was trapped in front of wicket by Akshdeep Nath, the two teams signed truce.
Brief Score:
Uttar Pradesh: 348 & 273/5d
Tamil Nadu: 231 & 212/4 in 84 overs (A Mukund 71, B Aparajith 71; Saurabh Kumar 2/30).