Sai Sudarshan gave a big blow to Delhi with his first double century.

Sai Sudharsan’s double ton put Tamil Nadu in control against Delhi. , Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

: After taking a quick single over mid-on in the 84th over of Tamil Nadu’s innings, B. Sai Sudarshan took off his helmet, flashed a light smile and raised his right thumb to celebrate his maiden double century in first-class cricket. It was a very underrated response from a top-order batsman who knows he is ready for more praise in Indian cricket.

Sudarshan’s innings was the cornerstone of Tamil Nadu’s impressive batting performance on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy clash against Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday. However it was not a fluke innings – a ball from Navdeep Saini went between the wicketkeeper and slip when he was on 143, and he was also relieved of a no-ball on 77.

At the time of stumps, Sudarshan was unbeaten on 202, taking Tamil Nadu to 379 for one in 88 overs. Washington Sundar remained unbeaten on 96 as they added 211 runs for the second wicket and there were chances for more for the pair on Saturday.

The shade of green on the pitch on Friday morning perhaps inspired Delhi to win the toss and bowl first. Himanshu Chauhan and Saini got a hint of lateral pace with the new ball, but barring a few games and early misses, Sudarshan and N. Jagadeesan did not look troubled during the opening partnership of 168 runs. It looked as if Delhi lacked a leading pace bowler in the game, with Pranshu Vijayaran, playing as the third pacer, adding to this impression by bowling two balls out of the ground in his fifth over due to an ankle sprain. Was.

Delhi’s only success of the day came in the 40th over as Saini played a back-of-a-length delivery to his stumps. If the home side were getting a feel for the start, Washington Sundar, in his first Ranji game of the season, ensured that didn’t happen with a well-crafted effort, allowing him to join Sudarshan on the three figures. Left only four runs behind. Mark.

Score:

Tamil Nadu – 1st innings: B. Sai Sudarshan (Batting) 202, N. Jagadeesan b Saini 65, Washington Sundar (batting) 96; Extra (B-3, LB-7, W-4, NB-2): 16; Total (for a week in 88 overs):

fall of wickets:1-168

Delhi bowling: Chauhan 17-2-50-0, Saini 17-0-65-1, Vijayaran 5.2-1-26-0, Tyagi 16.4-0-89-0, Rawat 26-0-110-0, Himmat 4-0- 18-0, Sidhu 2-0-11-0.

Toss: Delhi