JOIN USDinesh Kaarthick slammed an unbeaten ton as Tamil Nadu won with a bonus point in their opening tie against Andhra in the South Zone one-day tournament for the KS Subbaiah Pillai Trophy here at the RSI ground on Monday.
After skipper Lakshmipathi Balaji led the attack with a five-wicket haul (5/37), which helped the defending champions restrict Andhra to what appeared a competitive 247 all out in 46.4 overs, Kaarthick struck an 83-ball 105 (10x4, 3x6) to lead the successful chase.
The wicketkeeper-batsman shared a 102-run association with an equally impressive S Anirudha to effectively tilt the balance in TN’s favour. The hard-hitting opener hit a sparkling 81-ball 94 (9x4, 2x6) to give TN the desired start to the reply.
In the other match of the day, Hyderabad rode on Akshath Reddy’s undefeated century to prevail over Kerala in a closely-contested match. Opting to bat first, Kerala rode on number three batsman Rohan Prem’s well-paced unbeaten century (113 n.o., 124b, 10x4) to put up a challenging 266 for six, useful contributions coming in from Sachin Baby (31) and Padmanabhan Prasanth (36) at the JIRS ground.
Hyderabad appeared to be in a spot of bother at 125 for five at the half-way stage of their chase, but Akshath and Ibrahim Khaleel (54) stitched together a crucial partnership of 120 for the sixth wicket to reply with 267 for eight in 48.3 overs and dash Kerala’s hopes. Hyderabad earned four points for their effort while Kerala drew blank.
Brief scores: At JIRS: Kerala: 266/6 in 50 overs (Sachin Mohan 26, Rohan Prem 113 n.o., Sachin Baby 31, Padmanabhan Prasant 36; Ashish Reddy 2-51) lt to Hyderabad: 267/8 in 48.3 overs (T Suman 36, Akshath Reddy 110 n.o., Ibrahim Khaleel 54; P Prasanth 2-54, N Niyas 3-47). Hyderabad: 4 pts, Kerala: 0.
At RSI: Andhra: 247 all out in 46.4 overs (Prasanth Kumar 73, Y Venugopala Rao 36, AG Pradeep 33, Gonnabattula Chiranjeevi 49; Lakshmipathi Balaji 5-37) lt to Tamil Nadu: 243/5 in 39.5 overs (Anirudha S 94, Dinesh Kaarthick 105 n.o.; Syed Shahabuddin 2-45). TN: 5pts, Andhra: -1.