Fresh off a million dollars plus IPL contract and some quality time among world beaters in the Indian dressing room, M Shahrukh Khan showed his wares in red ball format with a stunning 148-ball-194 that secured the first innings lead for Tamil Nadu against Delhi in the Ranji trophy. Shahrukh came in at number seven with Tami Nadu in big trouble, but took the pressure off when he came just six short to convert his first first-class century into a double, but put Tamil up front with his 10 sixes and 20 fours.
Using his long handles and brute force, Shahrukh hit some flat sixes that crashed into the stands and most of it was in the straight arc between long out and long on.
Tamil Nadu resumed a tricky 75 for two on the third day after Delhi’s innings ended at an impressive 452, made a strong reaction to the third day of the Elite Group H game with 26-year-old Shahrukh leading the way.
Tamil Nadu was all-out for 494 before stumps were called to secure a crucial 42-run lead in the first inning.
The veteran Baba Indrajith also made a handsome contribution by making his way to 117 from 149 balls at the Barsapara Stadium, which witnessed a barrage of fours and sixs, leaving the formidable team from the north of the country stunned .
On a day that truly belonged to Shahrukh, who was bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 9 crore in the IPL mega auction last weekend, left arm spinner Vikas Mishra emerged as Delhi’s most successful bowler when he returned marks of 6/108 after a hard day’s work.
Seasoned left-arm sailor Pradeep Sangwan got 107 runs in his 21 overs, while his tempo colleague Kuldip Yadav conceded 105 runs from 18 overs, all thanks to the aggressive batting of the duo of Indrajith and Shahrukh, who added 134 runs after their team had lost five wickets for just 162 runs.
Indrajith hit 17 fours and two sixes during his stay at the center before taking lbw from Nitish Rana.
The best was yet to come as Shahrukh made a 178-run score with wicket-keeper Narayanswami Jagadeesan, who chipped in with a 50 out of 71 balls while enjoying his partner’s fighting spirit from the non-striker’s end.
Shahrukh reached his century in 89 balls and continued on the same footing to not only rescue his team from a difficult position but also secure three points.
In the group’s other match, Chattisgarh defeated Jharkhand by eight wickets in three days to take full points.
Short scores: Delhi 1st innings: 452 all out Tamil Nadu 1st innings 494 all out in 107.5 overs (Shahrukh Khan 194, Baba Indrajith 117; Vikas Mishra 6/108).
promoted
Jharkhand 169 and 133 (Utkarsh Singh 42, Sumit Ruikar 4/29) Chattisgarh 174 and (target 129) 129/2 (Akhil Herwadkar 62).
Points: Chattisgarh 6 Jharkand 0.
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