Ranji Trophy 2025-26: Pradosh-Indrajith partnership steadies TN innings against Vidarbha on Day 1
Pradosh Ranjan Paul, fresh from an unbeaten double century in the previous match, continued his good form, scoring a gritty 113 (275b, 13×4) to guide Tamil Nadu to 252 for four on day one of the third round Ranji Trophy (Elite Group-A) clash against Vidarbha at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground in Coimbatore on Saturday.
The left-hander was ably supported by B. Indrajith, who remained unbeaten on 94. The duo forged a 179-run alliance for the fourth wicket to keep the visitor at bay for almost the entirety of the last two sessions.
Pradosh, who walked in at the end of the first over, showed great discipline in eschewing extravagant drives through the off-side and waited for the deliveries on his pads and dispatched them to the fence with panache.
Earlier, electing to bat, the home team started poorly when it lost openers R. Vimal Khumar (2) and S.R. Athish (3), cheaply, being reduced to 18 for two. Pradosh and C. Andre Siddarth rebuilt the innings with a patient 55-run stand for the third wicket.
But just 10 minutes before lunch, ambidextrous spinner Akshay Karnewar bowled Andre with a classical left-arm spinner delivery that spun enough to hit the top of off-stump.
Indrajith then joined forces with Pradosh and showcased his prowess against spin on a surface that offered turn to the tweakers. He used his feet brilliantly to step out and work Karnewar and left-arm spinner Parth Rekhade down the ground, unsettling them off their lengths.
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The former TN skipper upped the scoring rate and got to his half-century by hitting Karnewar for consecutive fours through midwicket—one a pull off the backfoot and then charged down to drive through midwicket against the spin.
In the final session, Pradosh raced to his century in style with three boundaries, two flicks off the pacers, and then drove Karnewar – now bowling off-breaks – through mid-off, to take him past the three-figure mark.
Published on Nov 01, 2025
