On a gripping day that witnessed the fall of 17 wickets, holders Uttar Pradesh held on for a draw against Tamil Nadu and secured two points on the basis of first innings lead in their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match in Chennai on Thursday.

The match came alive on the last day with the hosts, starting at overnight score of 63 for no loss, being dismissed for 223 in their second essay. Uttar Pradesh were later reduced to 100 for seven to stall their victory bid.

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla [Images] grabbed five wickets for the visitors.

UP, who gained a 95-run first innings lead, required 129 for an outright win. But Tamil Nadu off-spinner Ashwin, who finished with figures of 11 for 151, rose to the occasion to scalp five batsmen of the visiting side and push them to back foot.

At close of play, the match was interestingly poised with UP needing just 29 runs and Tamil Nadu three wickets to win the match.

For UP, Suresh Raina top-scored with 32.

Both Tamil Nadu and UP have now four points each from five matches and are at the bottom of the eight team group. The remaining two matches will decide if they will be relegated to the Plate Division for the next season.