da bwin： Left handers Sadagoppan Ramesh and skipper Sridharan Sharath, with anunbeaten fourth wicket partnership of 127 runs off 34.3 overs, steeredTamil Nadu to a seven wicket victory over Punjab in their Ranji Trophyquarterfinal at the MA Chidambaram
da lvbet： Partab Ramchand03-Apr-2000Left handers Sadagoppan Ramesh and skipper Sridharan Sharath, with anunbeaten fourth wicket partnership of 127 runs off 34.3 overs, steeredTamil Nadu to a seven wicket victory over Punjab in their Ranji Trophyquarterfinal at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Monday. Tamil Nadu nowtake on oft crowned champions Mumbai in the semifinal, commencing inMumbai from April 11.Tamil Nadu, who were 30 for one wicket at close of play on Sunday,required another 134 runs to win. It did seem an easy task but theearly fall of Hemang Badani and JR Madanagopal set them back abit. The left handed Badani was caught behind by Jagnu off HarbhajanSingh for 11 while Madanagopal was bowled by Sandeep Sharma for noughtin the following over.As Sarath joined Ramesh, Punjab had fought back commendably. Butamidst the tension filled atmosphere, the two experienced playersexhibited all their skill to combat the situation. Harbhajan, thedanger man was given a long spell by Vikram Rathour but both Rameshand Sarath batted carefully on a wicket that was still playing well.Gradually, however the batsmen got on top as the bowlers wilted in theheat. In the post lunch session, as Ramesh and Sarath became moreconfident, the Punjab team turned desperate and there were frequentappeals. Ramesh lifted the tension by hitting a couple of loftedboundaries and Sarath too joined in with some rasping cuts to theropes. The siege was lifted and by mid-afternoon, the runs came morefreely. Ramesh lofted Sharandeep Singh for a straight six and with thefew hundred spectators cheering the home team on, the victory washastened by Sarath too stroking the ball freely. Indeed, it was theTamil Nadu captain who finished the match off in style with successiveshots for four and six off Harbhajan Singh. Ramesh who batted inexemplary fashion for 264 minutes, faced 144 balls and hit nine fours,besides the six. Sarath batted 166 minutes, faced 126 balls and hitfive fours, besides the winning six.
