Sai Sudharsan falls early but Tamil Nadu stay in hunt against Rajasthan in Ranji Trophy

JAIPUR: Drafted into the team at the last moment, Sai Sudharsan did not make any impact. The star India batter had a forgettable day as the four-day Rajasthan-Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy match was evenly poised at the halfway stage.Replying to Rajasthan’s first innings score of 363, Tamil Nadu were 167 for 4 on Day 2 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Monday. The visitors still need 197 runs to take the first-innings lead.Sai Sudharsan had an injury scare earlier in the morning. The India batter suffered a leg injury while fielding in the covers when he stopped a drive by Karan Lamba. He experienced discomfort and the team physio rushed to the ground. Sai was hobbling and had to be helped off the field by a support-staff member.Though he didn’t return to the field during Rajasthan’s innings, Sai recovered soon to open the batting. However, Sudharsan’s stay at the crease lasted for only 10 balls. He was cleaned up by debutant pacer Chetan Sharma for just 3 runs.Narayan Jagadeesan (55: 99b, 5x4, 1x6) and Pradosh Ranjan Paul (58: 101b, 5x4) then slammed half-centuries each to give the innings stability.The left-right combination of Pradosh and Jagadeesan added 104 runs for the second wicket before Ajay Singh Kukna struck twice in a short span of four overs to get rid of both of them.First he forced Jagadeesan to loft the ball straight to long-off fielder Rohan Rajbhar as the wicketkeeper-batter failed to judge the flight. Later he bowled Pradosh round his legs.Baba Indrajith and C Andre Siddarth then tried to get things back on track with a 46-run stand. Just when it looked TN would end the day without any further damage, part-time off-spinner Rohan castled Indrajith, again round his legs as the ball turned sharply after pitching.At stumps, Andre Siddarth (21) and nightwatchman Sonu Yadav (0) were batting at the crease.Earlier, resuming on their overnight score of 286 for 4, Rajasthan squandered away the strong start and added just 77 runs to be all out for 363 in 115.3 overs.At one stage, the hosts were well placed at 347 for 5 and a total of 400-plus was on the cards. However, the hosts lost their last five wickets for the addition of only 16 runs.The star of the opening day, Karan Lamba, who was batting on 103, could not last long and was trapped in front of the wickets by TN medium-pacer Sonu Yadav for 113.The other overnight batter, Mahipal Lomror, completed his half-century before he was caught by substitute S Ajith Ram off Deepesh Devendran for 66 triggering a lower-order collapse.Teenage pace sensation Deepesh bagged 3-89 on his First-Class debut after going wicketless on Sunday.“I didn’t feel bad for not picking any wicket in my first 19 overs. Even then, the coaches backed me, saying you bowl giving your full effort, don’t feel bad about leaking runs. So I did that. I gave full effort to see what happens. So this gave a very good result. I concentrated both on pace and accuracy,” an 18-year-old Deepesh told TOI after the day’s play.Rajasthan skipper Manav Suthar praised his inexperienced bowling attack for restricting the opponents.“Our bowlers really bowled well and didn’t concede many runs. The match is evenly balanced right now. If we manage to take a couple of wickets early tomorrow morning, we certainly have a chance of taking the first-innings lead,” said Suthar.Brief ScoresRajasthan 363 in 115.3 overs (Karan Lamba 113, Mahipal Lomror 66, Sumit Godara 49; Saravana Kumar 3-68, Deepesh Devendran 3-89, Washington Sundar 2-58). Tamil Nadu 167/4 in 50 overs (Pradosh Ranjan Paul 58, Narayan Jagadeesan 55, C Andre Siddarth 21*; Ajay Singh Kukna 2-31).Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.