Baba brothers make history, puts TN on command

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Several pairs of brothers have played first-class cricket together in India. Notable among them are CK Nayudu-CS Nayudu, Subash Gupte-Babloo Gupte, Mohinder-Surinder Amarnath,  AG Kripal-AG Milkha-AG Satwender, Yusuf-Irfan Pathan, Hardik-Krunal Pandya. But none of these brothers have ever scored a century in the same innings of a Ranji Trophy match.

In a rare run-fest, Baba brothers, Aparajith (101 batting) and Indrajith (127) were in the zone on Thursday as they cracked centuries each to put Tamil Nadu in a position of strength at 304 for 4 in 86 overs against Chhattisgarh on the first day of the Ranji Trophy match played Nehru Stadium, Guwahati.

At one stage, Tamil Nadu were down to 59 for 2, but the brothers took the team score to 265 by the end of day’s play. The double hundred stand was worth its weight in gold not just for the graceful strokeplay, but also for the impact it had on the team’s position on the day.
The duo played with a lot of understanding and more importantly, with purpose. Indrajith played very fluently and carried his form from the previous game to register his second century of the season.

“It was a delight to watch both Apar and Indrajith bat. Both played brilliantly and with a lot of understanding. While Apar held fort at one end, Indrajith was scoring briskly at the other end. This ploy negated all the tactics of the Chhattisgarh attack,” said M Venkataramana, head coach of Tamil Nadu.

As reported by this daily, M Siddharth was drafted into the squad in place of Saravana Kumar. While the play began a little late due to wet outfield, Tamil Nadu opted to bat first so as to post an imposing total and put pressure on the opposition. “Pleased with the way the first day went. Initially, our openers were watchful and played according to the surface. Kaushik was unlucky to get run out.  But both Apar and Indrajith made up for this loss with a solid stand that could have a say in the result of the match,” observed the former Dindigul Dragons coach.

After Indrajith was castled by Ajay Mandal, Tamil Nadu skipper Vijay Shankar, too, got out for a blob. However, Shahrukh Khan and Aparajith saw off the final overs of the day without any further damage. Shahrukh, known for his aggressive play, was a bit subdued by his own standards.
“We already lost four wickets, so the message to Shahrukh was to play out the day carefully without taking any risks. So, he played accordingly and struck once or twice only when was sure of clearing the fence,” Venkataramana pointed out.