TN vs BAR, Ranji Trophy round 7: Sukirt, Rathva lead Baroda’s recovery after Hemchudeshan’s early strikes
Fighting half-centuries from Sukirt Pandey (73 batting) and Ninad Rathva (66) ensured Baroda recovered from a wobbly start to finish on 247 for five against Tamil Nadu on day one of the final Ranji Trophy (Elite Group A) league match here at the Salem Cricket Foundation ground on Thursday.
Electing to bat, the Baroda openers saw off the initial burst from pacers R. Sonu Yadav and debutant G. Govinth. Shivalik Sharma was aggressive, hitting some fine drives and punches through the off-side while also riding his luck, edging a couple to the third-man fence.
It forced TN skipper R. Sai Kishore to introduce spin in the 10th over. J. Hemchudeshan bowled beautifully with control and guile to capitalise on the assistance from the pitch, striking thrice in his first four overs.
The off-spinner removed the opening pair of Jyotsnil Singh and Shivalik, caught at short-leg and silly-point, respectively; on both occasions, grip off the surface and bounce did the trick. He then foxed Shashwat Rawat in the air to have him stumped.
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Sai Kishore then joined in the action, dismissing Vishnu Solanki, taken by Andre Siddarth — his third catch — at a close-in position to leave the visitors in a spot of bother at 72 for four.
But once the pitch eased after the early-morning moisture had dried, Rathva and Pandey were able to keep the scoreboard ticking along while being circumspect. Rathva employed the sweep shot effectively and brought up his fifty with panache, pulling Sonu Yadav through midwicket. Just when he looked to up the ante, his productive shot became his undoing when he was trapped leg-before by Sai Kishore.
Pandey, who was happy to play second fiddle to his partner, then opened up, stroking crisply through covers against the tweakers. He found good support from his skipper, Atit Sheth (45 batting), as they added an unbroken 90-run stand for the sixth wicket and kept TN at bay for the entirety of the final session.
Published on Jan 29, 2026
