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Georgia Wareham pegs back South Africa after good start to leave hosts’ fortunes in balance

Srinidhi Ramanujam18-Feb-2023Tahlia McGrath’s 33-ball 57 propelled Australia to a commanding six-wicket victory in a low chase against the hosts South Africa in Gqeberha, and helped the team qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.It was Australia’s fourth successive win in the competition and their sixth victory against South Africa in as many matches at T20 World Cups. South Africa have now endured their second defeat in three matches and sit third in Group 1 behind Sri Lanka. They will have to win their next game against Bangladesh and hope Sri Lanka lose to New Zealand on Sunday to qualify for the semi-finals.

Brits-ering start for SA

After being put into bat, South Africa made a brisk start, courtesy Tazmin Brits. Laura Wolvaardt was dropped on 13 and struggled to get going as Brits played the role of an aggressor. The duo stitched together a 54-run partnership for the opening wicket, South Africa’s highest for the first wicket at this World Cup.Brits made good use of the field setting in the powerplay and used her feet well to come down the track and hit boundaries to keep ticking. After Ellyse Perry removed Wolvaardt in the ninth over for a 28-ball 19, she punished Annabel Sutherland in the next over for a six and four to ensure South Africa didn’t slow down. Brits eventually was out five short a half-century – her best score of the tournament – hitting six fours and a six.

Wareham, pacers pull things back

Australia fought back after the ten-over mark with regular wickets to keep South Africa at bay. After scoring 65 runs in the first ten for the loss of one wicket, South Africa could muster only 59 in the final ten, losing the plot as well as five wickets.Legspinner Georgia Wareham’s first over shifted momentum toward Australia as she removed both Brits and Chole Tryon in the space of five balls. Sune Luus and Nadine de Klerk chipped in with 20 and an unbeaten 14 respectively, but the knocks weren’t enough to lift the hosts to a competitive total after a good platform laid by Brits.Ashleigh Gardner picked up her 50th T20I wicket when she bowled Luus out in the final over. Darcie Brown, and Megan Schutt also accounted for a wicket each for Australia.

Kapp, Mlaba strike early blowsMarizanne Kapp, playing her international first match at her home ground, struck as early as the fifth over to dismiss Perry, who replaced Alyssa Healy at the top. Healy was ruled out of the game “with some left quad awareness following a high workload on return to play from a significant calf injury,” according to CA. Perry hit two clean fours before being caught at first slip by Tryon.Left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, who opened with the ball, then bowled Meg Lanning the next over when she tried to scoop a length ball over fine leg and missed badly. Kapp came back in the next over to trap Beth Mooney lbw with a full inswinger. At the end of the seventh over, Australia’s top order was back in the pavilion for 40 runs.

McGrath blitz takes Australia home

Gardner and McGrath then put on a match-winning 81-run partnership for the fourth wicket to blunt South Africa’s attack. McGrath was the more proactive among the two, counterattacking from the word go. She started with two fours against Nadine de Klerk in the 10th over to eventually race to a 29-ball half-century, which was also McGrath’s first fifty in this T20 World Cup.

Antigua to host three T20Is and five ODIs starting August 31

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2021South Africa Women will tour the Caribbean for three T20Is and five ODIs starting August 31. The tour serves as preparation for both teams, with just seven months to go for the 50-over World Cup in New Zealand.All the matches will be played in Antigua. While the T20Is and the first two ODIs will be hosted by the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, the remaining three ODIs will be played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.”It’s fantastic to be able to announce our schedule to the West Indies,” head coach Hilton Moreeng said. “A timely coming back for us to competitive cricket after a lengthy period without game time.”Every ODI series for us carries even more weight as we have our sights firmly set on the cricket showpiece that will be taking place next year, and I believe it is just as important for our hosts as they strive towards qualification for the ICC Women’s World Cup.”South Africa last played an international series in India in March, when they won both the limited-overs series in Lucknow. However, a number of top players have had game-time lately. Mignon du Preez, Laura Woolvardt, Shabnim Ismail, Dane van Niekerk, Chloe Tryon and Lizelle Lee are all currently part of The Hundred in England.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In comparison, West Indies are coming off a victorious limited-overs series at home against Pakistan in July. The upcoming series will help them prepare for the World Cup global qualifiers to be held in Zimbabwe this December, after failing to secure a direct entry for the World Cup.West Indies will have their third High Performance training camp, under head coach Courtney Walsh, as part of their preparations for the series. Three of their top players – Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews – are part of The Hundred competition in England, and will likely join the squad ahead of the series.”We are delighted to have more cricket on the horizon as this will be a vital part of our preparations for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers,” Walsh said. “We are at a crucial juncture as we prepare for this big event and again, we want to thank CWI for organising this camp to get the girls up to speed.”We were fantastic against Pakistan last month and we want to bring that winning momentum into this series of matches as well. We are going in the right direction, with the way we want. There is a lot to play for and we will be up for the challenge.”

In a terse press conference, Australia’s head coach reiterated that Maxwell’s continued omission from the Test side had nothing to do with factors outside of cricket

Andrew McGlashan10-Jan-20191:13

Langer’s ‘grumpy’ exchange with reporter on Maxwell question

Another day, another drama around Australian selection. Head coach Justin Langer was involved in a tense exchange, which he later apologized for, as he said he had “zero knowledge” of guidance given to Glenn Maxwell last year for him to not take up a county deal in England on the assumption that he would be selected for Australia A.That Australia A place, for a tour of India, never transpired – the justification given was that enough was known about Maxwell’s ability on the subcontinent – and Maxwell was then not selected for the Test tour of the UAE with the instruction of Langer to go and “score more hundreds” to push his credentials. Due to white-ball commitments he has since played just two first-class matches and was not part of Australia’s revamped Test batting line-up to face Sri Lanka.Speaking on Wednesday, national selector Trevor Hohns said he did not know about any instruction to Maxwell not to spend time in county cricket last year. He added Maxwell was “content” to focus on white-ball cricket ahead of the World Cup, but acknowledged he still had a strong desire to add to his seven Test caps. Maxwell opted against putting his name into the IPL auction this year, instead taking a county stint with Lancashire that will include both first-class and one-day cricket.The guidance to Maxwell to put rest ahead of county cricket last year – following the one-day tours of England and Zimbabwe – was understood to be made before Langer was appointed the new coach in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal. When pressed on the issue he went back and forth with a journalist before saying he had no knowledge of it.Glenn Maxwell walks off in the rain•Getty Images

“Are you certain that’s what happened,” Langer asked of the instructions given to Maxwell, with the journalist responding, “I’m asking”. After two rounds of this, Langer was asked who gave the directive to which he replied: “Did it happen?””Well you’re telling me it did happen, I’m asking did it happen?” Langer repeated. “No, I’ve got zero knowledge of that,” he then said, before calling it “careless whispers”.Before answering the next question, Langer apologised: “Sorry for getting grumpy,” he said. “I don’t like getting grumpy but there’s so many stories that go around about so much stuff. Sorry everyone for getting grumpy. I didn’t mean to get grumpy, but the truth is a beautiful thing.”Before the exchange about the details of the county deal, Langer had reiterated that Maxwell’s continued omission from the Test side had nothing to do with factors outside of cricket.”Glenn is crystal clear from me and the selectors, what he needs to do to get back in the Test team,” he said. “He’s shown he is brilliant around the group in white-ball cricket. There’s been some reports about personality. It is literally false. It’s not true. He’s crystal clear what he has to do and that’s important, that he knows that and I know that as the coach and one of the selectors. All the conjecture about it – that’s all part of the noise. Glenn knows exactly what he has to do.”*Cricket Australia later confirmed Maxwell had in fact been sent a planning email in April discussing his options for the coming year, in which mention was made of resting between the limited-overs tours of England and Zimbabwe and the Australia A tour of India a few weeks later. However a spokesperson denied that the planning email, a common part of discussions between CA and the players, was tantamount to a guarantee of selection.Selection has been a key debate through the Australian season with the absence of David Warner and Steven Smith leaving a threadbare Test batting order. Marnus Labuschagne was the surprise choice to bat No. 3 in the final Test against India while Matt Renshaw, Joe Burns and Will Pucovski have been called up for the series against Sri Lanka. There have also been considerable changes to the one-day team that will face India.Maxwell remains part of the one-day set-up but has been asked to take a role lower down the order in recent times, batting at No. 6 in last year’s series against England and South Africa, having been briefly dropped from the team after a lean run in 2017. He has made one half-century in his last 14 ODI innings.*GMT 0845 The story was amended to include this paragraph.

Following remedial work and reassessment, Brian Vitori’s bowling action has been found to be legal

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2018Zimbabwe left-arm seamer Brian Vitori has been allowed to bowl in international cricket again after his bowling action, following remedial work and reassessment, was found to be legal.Vitori had been reported for a suspect action in January 2016 and had been suspended for an illegal bowling action a month later.Vitori had been reported following a T20 against Bangladesh in Khulna nearly two years ago in which he conceded 45 runs in four overs. He then underwent assessment in Chennai, where all variations of his deliveries exceeded the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under ICC’s regulations.Vitori has played domestic matches for Tuskers in Zimbabwe since then, most recently in a first-class match in December 2017. Overall, the 27-year old has played four Tests, 20 ODIs and 11 T20Is for Zimbabwe after making his international debut in August 2011.

West Indies’ openers ground their way to 76 in almost 47 overs after Zimbabwe were carried to 326 by Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo30-Oct-2017Stumps
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSikandar Raza revived Zimbabwe’s innings•AFP

Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza starred with the bat on the second day at Queens, but incisive bowling and attritional batting from West Indies ensured the honours were shared at stumps. Masakadza and Raza did enough to ensure that the hosts passed 300, which looked a long way off when they were 14 for 3 yesterday, but Zimbabwe’s progress was stalled by openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell. They ground their way to an opening stand of 76 in almost 47 overs before Brathwaite was eventually prised from the crease, as nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo partnering Powell until the close.The game had moved much faster in the morning, when Hamilton Masakadza cracked the first ball of the day through the covers for four, and then collected four boundaries in the space of seven deliveries before the first drinks break. He and Raza threatened to take the game away from West Indies with a stand that stretched to 90 runs, but with Masakadza’s dismissal West Indies forced their way back into the game. The spinners struck repeatedly with the old ball to peg Zimbabwe back, and after lunch, the quicks used the new ball to deal with the tail, as the wickets were shared around.Masakadza had looked set to surpass his Test best on the second morning, but Jason Holder’s decision not to take the new ball when it was due slowed the game down, made scoring harder, and eventually helped West Indies break through. Three runs short of his 150, Masakadza attempted to force the pace with a slog sweep at Bishoo, but the ball ballooned off the top edge to be caught by wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich.Malcolm Waller then went for a golden duck, flashing a drive over the top of an extravagantly flighted ball from Brathwaite, and Regis Chakabva never settled, missing a sweep at a Bishoo legbreak to be bowled for 10.Only Raza stood firm, going to fifty with a swatted pull for six over midwicket off Bishoo. Picking the right balls to hit and using his feet effectively, he wore the responsibility of batting with the tail well and carried Zimbabwe past 300 with a flowing drive through cover point. The eventual arrival of the new ball brought about his demise, however. Raza drove at Shannon Gabriel but edged to second slip for 80 – the first catch to be taken in the slips off a pace bowler for either team all series. An overly adventurous single saw Cremer run-out for 11, and when Roach undid debutant Tendai Chisoro with a superb slower ball, Zimbabwe were all out for 326 midway through the second session.The clouds that had engulfed Bulawayo on the first day parted in the afternoon, and West Indies’ openers began their riposte under bright blue skies. There was a similar clarity to their batting, both men seeing the shine off the new ball ahead of stiffer challenges from Zimbabwe’s spinners.Cremer brought himself on as early as the 10th over, immediately finding the outer half of Powell’s bat, though the edge fell short of slip. Raza, used ahead of specialist left-arm spinner Chisoro, also had a strong lbw shout turned down in his first over. Zimbabwe weren’t helped by a couple of missed opportunities. Cremer missed two caught-and-bowled chances off Powell’s bat straight after tea, but otherwise both Powell and Brathwaite’s knocks were studies of attritional, risk-free accumulation; 19 of the 49 overs West Indies faced were maidens.Chisoro eventually had a bowl late in the afternoon, and with his stock ball turning away from the right-hander, he looked particularly menacing when bowling at Brathwaite, beating his outside edge several times in his first spell of bowling in Tests. Yet it was Cremer, who had struggled for rhythm and consistency early in his spells, who eventually brought the breakthrough. Moments before the close, he got Brathwaite to spar at a quicker, flatter legspinner to be well caught by Masakadza at slip. After a lot of hard graft – West Indies made the lowest Test score after 40 overs in the 21st century – the wicket ensured the day ended with the balance of the match at an even keel.

Chamara Kapugedara has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy with an injury to his right knee, which was sustained during training on Wednesday

Andrew Fidel Fernando07-Jun-2017Sri Lanka batsman Chamara Kapugedera has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy with an injury to his right knee, which was sustained during training on Wednesday. He has been replaced with opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka, who was on stand-by in England.”Kapugedara [had] a heavy pounding on the right knee when he landed on it awkwardly during a fielding drill this morning, and radiographic investigation has revealed a meniscal tear coupled with an acute tendon injury,” a board release said. “Tournament and SLC Medical experts have recommended a supervised convalescence of two weeks, followed by a review of the injury.”Though Gunathilaka, who is likely to play the match against India on Thursday, is officially replacing Kapugedara, he will effectively be taking the place of Upul Tharanga at the top of the order. Kapugedara’s middle order position, meanwhile, will be assumed by Angelo Mathews, who is set to play his first ODI since August last year.Kapugedara was out first ball in Sri Lanka’s tournament opener against South Africa, but had been in some form in the approach to the tournament.

Cape Cobras had the best bowler – Mthokozisi Shezi with 5 for 34 – and the top scorer of the game – Wayne Parnell with 74 not out – but they still fell 12 short of Warriors in East London

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2015
ScorecardCape Cobras had the best bowler – Mthokozisi Shezi with 5 for 34 – and the top scorer of the game – Wayne Parnell with 74 not out – but they still fell 12 short of Warriors in East London.Warriors cobbled together a total of 153 for 8 after choosing to bat, the innings stuttering as only three batsmen made it past 20. JJ Smuts’ unbeaten 61 off 40 balls was their best score, while Colin Ackerman’s 34 was second highest. Shezi ran through the middle and lower order, striking twice in two different overs to cripple the innings.Cobras opened with Parnell once again and he made 74 off 60 balls, batting through the innings. He got very little support though and there was a steady fall of wickets at the other end. Justin Kemp’s 20 was the next best score for Cobras and a low scoring rate deprived the chase of momentum. Five Warriors bowlers picked up wickets, with Andrew Birch returning best figures of 3 for 28.

New Zealand have accepted they must manage the later stages of Daniel Vettori’s career with care after he was ruled out of the Headingley Test

David Hopps23-May-2013Daniel Vettori’s distinguished Test career is not about to be “swept away”, in the words of his captain Brendon McCullum, but even as he returns to fitness New Zealand have accepted they must manage the later stages of his career with care after reluctantly ruling him out of the second Test against England at Headingley.Vettori was enthusiastic enough to jump on a plane and travel around the world to try to bail out New Zealand but not fit enough to play. He has sat on the bench throughout the 2013 IPL with Royal Challengers Bangalore and now, eight months after his last New Zealand appearance at the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, New Zealand are facing up to the fact that, at 34, his workload will never be the same again.”It’s something we’re going to have to discuss down the track,” McCullum admitted. “It’s going to be a rolling conversation that we need to have with Dan as to what he needs to prioritise with where he’s at in his career.”It would be nice to think that he’d be able to play every game in all three forms but it’s not realistic. I certainly see a place for him in the team. It would be silly for us to sweep away 112 Test matches, nearly 400 wickets and six Test centuries.”He jumped on a plane as soon as he got the phone call. He’s a great guy to have around, a tremendous player and he’s always keen to help out the NZ cricket team. But he didn’t scrub up that well today and the confidence to go into a five-day game with the workload he’s had was just a bridge too far.”It was a very rational decision from all of us on Dan. He wasn’t quite confident he’d be able to get through the entire five days and he didn’t want to let the team down.”McCullum was honest enough to admit that the wish to protect Vettori’s fitness for the Champions Trophy influenced their decision. When it comes to surviving a five-day Test, there is no substitute for match practice, especially if that substitute is in an inactive series at the IPL and a lifestyle based upon lightweight training sessions, internal flights and a room service menu.”I guess that was one of the things we looked at as well,” McCullum said. “In terms of his playing opportunity in this game, would we sacrifice the coming few weeks? That wasn’t the right thing for Dan or for us.”

Hashim Amla is wary of a Sri Lankan backlash, and expects South Africa to show the same dogged intent as they did in Paarl in East London

Firdose Moonda in East London13-Jan-2012There comes a point in a series when there is nothing but pride to play for. That is usually when a team has disintegrated as much as is possible, or when the games are dead rubbers. Neither of those situations actually exist in the ongoing contest between South Africa and Sri Lanka, but already it feels like pride is all Sri Lanka have to lean on as they enter the second match.Paarl is a place Sri Lanka would like to strike off the map. The number between 42 and 44 will become an unmentionable for them. Humiliation is an easy word to write or say, but a painful one to experience.South Africa know all about being embarrassed and although they are now the ones inflicting the blushes, there is a sense of pathos about the way Hashim Amla spoke of Sri Lanka’s woes. “If a similar thing had happened to us, we would be quite motivated to put in a better performance,” Amla said at Boland Park, ahead of the second ODI. “So taking that into account, we know that Sri Lanka will come back firing – as they did in the Test matches. They are a proud team with a lot of heritage, so we’re not going to take them lightly.”For a team to bounce back from a thrashing is to be expected, especially when there is hardly any room for them to get worse. For a team to keep the momentum going after handing out a thrashing is tricky.Historically, this is the juncture at which South Africa tend to slack off. Only recently have they started admitting to it, and captain AB de Villiers had previously stressed that it is something they will address seriously in this series. “The most important thing will be the attitude that we bring to the game,” Amla said. “With a very convincing victory, the mood in the camp is good and we hope to continue that [winning].”Amla was central to the victory, as his century set South Africa up for a total of over 300. His three-figure knock also showed that he probably performs better without the extra burden of leadership. Amla captained in de Villiers’ absence in the previous series against Australia and had scored 24, 0 and 52. “Not being captain, there is a lot less on your plate,” he said. “I just tried to take things simply and when you get a partnership going, it’s always easier to score.”Jacques Kallis was the dominant partner in a 144-run second-wicket stand with Amla. As Kallis accumulated with ease, Amla was allowed to take his time to build his innings. “In situations like that, it is important to put emphasis on the partnership rather than on personal runs,” Amla said. “As the partnership progressed, I found my feet and started scoring more freely.”By the time Kallis was dismissed, in the Powerplay, Amla had hit a good rhythm. With de Villiers, he took 91 runs off the next 12 overs, to take the game away from a weary Sri Lankan attack. “AB is a phenomenal player, he reads the situation very well,” Amla said. “He took the game to the opposition. Sometimes, it becomes a tendency not to score as quickly when you lose a wicket but his awesomeness came through.”On a pitch that had some uneven bounce and started off slow and low, South Africa batted like they were walking on a velvet carpet. Their intent did not subside with the ball and the bowlers battered the Paarl strip to create extra bounce. Amla expects the same in East London, which is also known to be a placid surface. “We’ll still bowl with a lot of intent but you have to be adaptable to these kinds of games.”The team may have to do without Amla soon, as he is awaits the birth of his first child. His wife, Sumayya, is due “any day now”, and he has made arrangements to take a break from the series when the baby arrives. Amla is due to play in East London but may not make it to Bloemfontein, which will leave South Africa in a tricky position at the top.Amla is the in-form opener with Graeme Smith struggling. The former captain has not scored an ODI hundred since 2009 and has only made one half-century in his last 14 innings. Robin Peterson may be used in a makeshift role or the selectors could use the opportunity to blood a youngster like Richard Levi. The only other concern for South Africa is in the reserves.Rory Kleinveldt, who has not played for the national team since a World T20 match in 2010, will have to wait to make his comeback. A quadricep injury has ruled him out of the rest of the series.

A round-up of the first day’s play of the seventh round of matches of the Ranji Trophy Elite, 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2011Group ATamil Nadu’s S Badrinath was given an award for playing his 100th first-class game•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Eighteen wickets tumbled on the opening day between Railways and Saurashtra in Delhi, and at the end of it Saurashtra were well placed to take the first-innings lead. On a sharply turning track, Saurashtra were shot out for 175 after choosing to bat, with Ashish Yadav taking 4 for 35 for Railways. The visitors had made a steady start, with the openers adding 59, before ten wickets fell for 112 runs. Wicketkeeper Sheldon Jackson top-scored with 39.When they batted, Railways crashed to 71 for 8. They had got to 18 without damage before losing four wickets for no runs. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled unchanged from the Pavilion end after replacing seamer Sandip Maniar in the fourth over of the innings, took three of those wickets and finished the day with 6 for 22. Mahesh Rawat was the only Railways batsman to show some application, using his feet well and stepping down the track several times to kill the spin. He remained not out on 31 at stumps.First-class cricket returned to Shimoga after 32 years, and Stuart Binny marked the occasion with his second rescue job in as many games. His unbeaten 86 airlifted Karnataka from 171 for 6, after their top order fell apart against Uttar Pradesh in relatively easy batting conditions. Binny, aided by Sunil Raju, steered them to 300 for 7, leaving the game even after a see-saw day. Read the whole report here.Thirty-one years after his namesake took five wickets on first-class debut for Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium, medium-pacer Balwinder Sandhu repeated the feat and dealt a blow to Punjab’s hopes of securing a quarter-final berth. Sandhu struck with his third delivery in first-class cricket and, along with Kshemal Waingankar, ensured Mumbai did not suffer from the absence of the experienced Aavishkar Salvi, who left the field clutching his side in his second over. Read the whole report here.A solid performance from Rajasthan’s top order gave them a strong platform for a formidable first-innings total against Orissa in Jaipur. After getting sent in to bat, Rajasthan lost Aakash Chopra early but Vineet Saxena, who is coming off a hundred against Saurashtra, and Hrishikesh Kanitkar made half-centuries and added 139 runs for the second wicket. Both batsmen were dismissed in successive overs with the score on 158, but Robin Bist and Rashmi Parida steered Rajasthan to 209 for 3 at stumps.Group BAshok Dinda’s five-wicket haul helped Bengal curb Baroda’s strong start and reduce them to 284 for 9 in Vadodara. Baroda only need first-innings points to secure a quarter-final berth and they were on course for a formidable total after being asked to bat. After they lost Anupam Gupta early, Aditya Waghmode and Rakesh Solanki scored half-centuries to lead Baroda to 145 for 1.Dinda dismissed both set batsmen and cut through the middle order, reducing the home team to 222 for 6. He then broke a 56-run partnership for the seventh wicket before Sourav Ganguly struck twice in the only over he bowled to leave Baroda on 278 for 9. Three wickets had fallen for no runs. Dinda ended the day with figures of 5 for 96.Gujarat’s bowlers made short work of Haryana’s batting line-up, dismissing them for 207 in Surat. Medium-pacer Mehul Patel took 4 for 59, and he was supported by Ishwar Chaudhary and Ashraf Madka, who took 3 for 50 and 2 for 23.Haryana had made a steady start after choosing to bat but lost their way from 59 for 1. Sunny Singh top scored with 69 but had no support from his team-mates, none of whom passed 30. Gujarat then lost their captain Parthiv Patel off the first ball of their innings, but Priyank Panchal and Niraj Patel steered them to 46 for 1 by stumps.Both teams squaring off in Chennai are already in the quarter-finals and it was Tamil Nadu that had the better of the first day against Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh had chosen to bowl, a decision that did not pay off – though the opening pair of T Sudhindra and Ishwar Pandey extracted a bit of movement off the pitch – as all the Tamil Nadu top-order batsmen got starts and three of them converted it into half-centuries to help them reach 294 for 4 at stumps.M Vijay and Kaushik Gandhi made 83 and 80, while Dinesh Karthik was unbeaten on 60. Vijay and Karthik were both in positive in their approach as Tamil Nadu had at least a half-century stand for each of the first four wickets, ensuring MP’s successes were few and far between. Vijay crafted some crackring drives, while Karthik peppered the straight boundary. S Badrinath, who was playing his 100th first-class game, meanwhile, hit the only six of the day before falling for 32 at the stroke of tea. The visitors used as many as eight bowlers and Amarjeet Singh had the best figures – 2 for 79.