Gujarat kept on a leash by Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI - Tamil Nadu, seeking a spot in the quarter-finals, took a grip on their concluding Ranji Trophy Elite Group A fixture as they pegged Gujarat down to 69 for four at stumps on the truncated first day here Wednesday.

With no play possible for nearly half the day due to early morning showers, only 42 overs were played and during that period, Gujarat struggled against some tight bowling by Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu attack, packed with three spinners and bolstered by the return of Ravichandran Ashwin from national duty, chipped away at the Gujarat line-up after seamer Rajagopal Sathish achieved the first breakthrough by trapping opener Rikin Chauhan in front.

Thereafter, Tamil Nadu picked up three more wickets, including that of skipper Parthiv Patel (13) to establish their supremacy. Offie Suresh Kumar took two for 20 while Ashwin had 1 for 19 as the two did much of the bowling.

Going into the final set of matches in the league stage, Tamil Nadu are on 14 points and Gujarat have 13, the same as Delhi, while Mumbai (21) are already assured of a spot in the quarter-finals. Two other teams, Bengal (12) and Railways (11) are also in the reckoning with three to qualify from the group.