Rajat Patidar 110 not out as MP reach 214/3 against TN

Rajat Patidar scored a patient 110 not out to help Madhya Pradesh reach 214 for 3 against Tamil Nadu at stumps on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B Match here Thursday.

The visiting team elected to bat after skipper Naman Ojha won the toss. It lost the wicket of opener Ankit Dane (4) in the second over.

Dane was caught by TN captain Baba Aparajith off M Mohammed's bowling.

Opener Aryaman Vikram Birla (51, 166 balls, 6X4) and Patidar forged a 124-run partnership for the second wicket to keep Tamil Nadu bowlers at bay.

Indian Test spinner R Ashwin pegged away but the two defied his skills to help Madhya Pradesh forge ahead.

Ashwin had one wicket to show for his efforts even as he kept the runs down. He conceded 49 runs in his 21 overs.

Skipper Ojha, who joined Patidar after Birla's exit, displayed a lot of intent as he looked for runs.

He hit two fours and two sixes in his 45 before falling to Vijay Shankar towards the end of the day's play.

Patidar and Shubham Sharma (O batting) saw the team through without any further losses.

Brief scores: Madhya Pradesh 214 for 3 in 89 overs (Rajat Patidar 110, Aryaman Vikram Birla 51) vs TN.

At Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala 231 for 4 in 85 overs (Sachin Baby 57 batting, Jalaj Saxena 58, Sanju Samson 53) vs Hyderabad.

At Amtar: Bengal 266 for 6 in 90 overs (Manoj Tiwary 55, Anustup Majumdar 53, Abhishek Kumar Raman 48, RR Dhawan 2 for 34) vs Himachal Pradesh.

At Vizag: Punjab 261 for 6 in 90 overs (Sanvir Singh 63 batting, Mandeep Singh 68, Shubman Gill 56, B Ayyappa 3 for 64) vs Andhra Pradesh.