Jagadeesan century gives TN control

Chennai: Opening batter N Jagadeesan smashed an unbeaten 155 (254 balls, 16x4, 3x6), while youngster Boopathi Vaishna Kumar (67 off 128 balls, 6x4) struck a half-century in his maiden Ranji Trophy innings as Tamil Nadu stood at 286-5 against Railways at stumps on the opening day of the Elite Group C match in Coimbatore on Friday.Jagadeesan, a versatile batter promoted to open the innings, hit his seventh ton in the premier red-ball tournament and first century in his hometown. Jagadeesan stitched a vital 142-run fifth-wicket partnership with Boopathi, who had made his Ranji debut against Tripura in Agartala but did not get an opportunity to bat in that match.Opting to bat first at the SNR College Ground, TN had a poor start as southpaw R Vimal Khumar was dismissed for a duck in the very first over. But Jagadeesan and B Sachin (33) pulled the home team out of early trouble by combining for 84 runs for the second-wicket stand. While Jagadeesan played with positive intent at a ground which he is no stranger to, Sachin produced a patient knock that included two hits to the fence.After Sachin and Baba Indrajith (18) fell to left-arm spinner Akash Pandey (2-74), and Vijay Shankar (4) was removed by leggie Karn Sharma (1-70) to leave TN at 130-4, Jagadeesan and Boopathi took matters into their own hands. The right-left combination dominated the Railways bowlers during the 41 overs they spent together.As was the case in TN’s previous big stand, Jagadeesan, most of whose boundaries came in the ‘V’, was the aggressor. At the other end, Boopathi made the most of the opportunity that was presented to him, helping bring TN back into the contest. Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 286-5 in 90 overs (N Jagadeesan 155*, M Boopathi Vaishna Kumar 67; Akash Pandey 2-74) Vs Railways.