Thaindian News

Chennai, Jan 19 (IANS) On a rather docile pitch, the highly experienced Rajasthan openers Akash Chopra and Vineet Saxena made the best of the conditions to pile on 221 for no loss against Tamil Nadu on the first day of their Ranji Trophy final here Thursday.

As the home bowlers toiled, former Test player Chopra (86, 10 x 4) and Saxena (120, 16 x 4) batted with caution and put Rajasthan in command with their unbeaten double-century partnership.

The signs were ominous for Tamil Nadu in the very first over when skipper Lakshmipathy Balaji went for 17 runs, including three boundaries as Rajasthan were off the block in quick time.

Thereafter, both Chopra and Saxena settled down to graft their way as the host bowlers made no impression on the Rajasthan openers who seemed to be in no hurry and not once through the day did they look to be in any trouble.

Balaji, in fact, did not have a particularly good day and even injured himself fielding at mid-on, but returned to the field soon after.

Saxena got to his third century of the season in the 82nd over when he drove Balaji on the onside for a boundary while Chopra at the other end looked certain to follow suit when the match resumes Friday.

While the Tamil Nadu seamers, including their leading wicket-taker Jagannathan Kaushik, hardly distinguished themselves, the two slow bowlers, left-arm spinner Aushik Srinivas and offie Sunny Gupta did not receive any assistance from the pitch that increasingly flattened out as the day wore on.

Brief Scores:

At Chennai: Rajasthan 221/0 in 90 overs (Akash Chopra batting 86, Vineet Saxena batting 120) vs Tamil Nadu