By Admin 
A dropped catch, a missed run out, and some thrill-a-minute cricket later, pacer Sonu Yadav cleaned up No. 11 Saiteja for two as Tamil Nadu snatched a slender five-run first-innings lead over Andhra on the second day of their Elite Group-A fourth-round Ranji Trophy match at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.
After pacer Sandeep Warrier (four for 53) castled both Saurabh Kumar (30) and Prithvi Raj Yarra (duck) in the space of four balls, Andhra was left reeling at 143 for nine. Desperation gripped both sides, setting up a tense passage of play. Andhra needed 40 runs to claim the first-innings lead, and Tamil Nadu had to strike before it did.
Shaik Rasheed (87 n.o., 150b, 8×4, 2×6), desperate to take a single off the last ball of an over, edged and was dropped at slip by B. Indrajith on 71 off left-arm spinner R. Sai Kishore. Andhra needed 18 runs then. Desperate again to regain strike, Rasheed bolted across as Saiteja responded late, but the point fielder missed the throw at the non-striker’s end.
Rasheed played an innings of two contrasting parts. Playing the ball late and often square, he was compact even as wickets tumbled around him. Then, he showcased his clean hitting during the last-wicket stand. Even with the field spread, he slog-swept a six over midwicket, and when it was brought in, he smacked a four to long off in the same over off Warrier. He sneaked a four between the deep cover and deep extra cover fielders, and tonked a six over midwicket in the same over off Sai Kishore.
Tamil Nadu ended the day with a 107-run lead, courtesy of a 69-run third-wicket stand between B. Sachin (51, 81, 8×4) and Pradosh Ranjan Paul (26 batting). Sachin, en route his maiden first-class fifty, crisply played the cover drive for four boundaries off the pacers.
The scores: Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: 182.
Andhra — 1st innings: Abhishek Reddy lbw b Warrier 3, K.S. Bharat b Trilok 12, Tripurana Vijay b Trilok 3, Shaik Rasheed (not out) 87, Ricky Bhui c Jagadeesan b Warrier 4, Karan Shinde c Jagadeesan b Sonu 9, Ashwin Hebbar c Paul b Sai Kishore 13, K.S. Raju c Indrajith b Sai Kishore 1, Saurabh Kumar b Warrier 30, Prithvi Raj Yarra b Warrier 0, K. Saiteja b Sonu 2; Extras (b-5, lb-8): 13; Total (in 49 overs): 177.
Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-20, 3-28, 4-45, 5-63, 6-98, 7-100, 8-143, 9-143.
Tamil Nadu bowling: Warrier 16-1-53-4, Trilok 11-2-50-2, Sonu Yadav 10-3-20-2, Sai Kishore 11-0-38-2, Vidyuth 1-0-3-0.
Tamil Nadu — 2nd innings: R. Vimal Khumar c Bharat b Raju 20, N. Jagadeesan c Bhui b Prithvi Raj 0, B. Sachin run out 51, Pradosh Ranjan Paul (batting) 26, R. Sai Kishore (batting) 0; Extras (b-4, w-1): 5; Total (for three wkts. in 29 overs): 102.
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-32, 3-101.
Andhra bowling: Prithvi Raj 7-0-16-1, Saiteja 7-2-20-0, Raju 5-0-30-1, Hebbar 5-1-20-0, Vijay 2-1-4-0, Saurabh 3-0-8-0.