All-rounder Vijay Shankar blasted an unbeaten 150 as Tamil Nadu closed in on an outright win after declaring at 305 for 5 and reducing Chandigarh to 113 for 5 on day 3 of their Elite Group D Ranji Trophy match in Salem, Tamil Nadu, on Saturday.
In a clash between the two table-toppers, Shankar struck 12 fours and five sixes in his 171-ball innings, while Narayan Jagadeesan contributed 89 at the top as the hosts recovered from a mini-collapse to set Chandigarh a daunting target of 403.
This century marked Shankar's 11th first-class ton and second of the season.
Chandigarh, who had been bowled out for 204 in their first innings, faced a tough challenge as they were reduced to 113 for 5 in 33 overs. Skipper Manan Vohra was battling on 47, but his team still required 290 runs to win.
At stumps, Vohra was at the crease with Vishu Kashyap (4).
For Tamil Nadu, skipper Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore (2/38) and S Ajith Ram (2/46) took two wickets each, while M Mohammed (1/13) accounted for one.
Resuming the day at 27 for 2, overnight batter Jagadeesan witnessed Ajith Ram (7) and Baba Indrajith (3) being dismissed cheaply.
Shankar then joined Jagadeesan and forged a 152-run partnership to steady the innings. Andre Siddarth also contributed with an unbeaten 36.
Chhattisgarh lead by 59 runs against Jharkhand
In Jamshedpur, Anuj Tiwary (66) and Ashutosh Singh (64) scored fifties as Chhattisgarh reached 205 for 4 in their second innings, taking a 59-run lead against Jharkhand on Day 3.
Jharkhand, resuming at 304 for 4, were all out for 376 in 118.2 overs, with a a 146-run first-innings lead.
Sumit Ruikar (4/87) was the pick of the bowlers, while Gagandeep Singh and Ashish Chouhan took two wickets each.
At stumps, Sanjeet Desai was on 23, and Gagandeep Singh was yet to get off the mark.
Ghadigaonkar ton takes Assam to 175 for 4
Sumit Ghadigaonkar (100*) cracked an unbeaten century, while Sibsankar Roy (56) also made a fifty as Assam reached 175 for 4 after dismissing Railways for 250 on day 3.
At stumps, Ghadigaonkar was batting alongside Swarupam Puryayastha (15).
Assam now trail by 75 runs.
Earlier, former India A keeper-batter Upendra Yadav (103) completed his century, and Bhargav Merai hit a half-century as Railways added another 52 runs to their overnight score of 198 for 5 before being bowled out.
Brief Scores:
Tamil Nadu: 301 and 305/5 declared in 72.5 overs (Vijay Shankar 150; Jagjit Singh Sandhu 3/43) vs Chandigarh: 204 & 113/5 in 33 overs (Manan Vohra 47; Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore 2/38)
Chhattisgarh: 230 & 205/4 in 63 overs (Anuj Tiwary 66, Ashutosh Singh 64; Utkarsh Singh 2/30) vs Jharkhand: 376 all out in 118.2 overs (Kumar Suraj 104, Sharandeep Singh 69, Utkarsh Singh 62; Sumit Ruikar 4/87).
Assam: 175/4 in 52 overs (Sumit Ghadigaonkar 100 not out; Himanshu Sangwan 2/44) vs Railways 250 all out in 85.1 overs (Upendra Yadav 103, Mukhtar Hussain 4/24).
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