Jagadeesan hits double ton

Chennai: Opener N Jagadeesan (245 not out off 402 balls, 25x4, 4x6) carried the bat with an unbeaten double hundred, guiding Tamil Nadu to 489 in their first innings against Railways on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match in Coimbatore on Saturday.Responding to TN’s imposing total, Railways, riding an unbroken third-wicket alliance between Pratham Singh (76 batting off 79 balls, 7x4, 4x6) and Nishant Kushwah (22 batting), stood at 126-2 at close of play. After the visitors lost two early wickets – both bagged by pacer Sandeep Warrier (2-35) – No. 3 Pratham took the attack to the opposition.Jagadeesan picked up from where he left off on the first day and achieved many milestones. The right-handed batter struck his maiden double ton in the longest format for his highest score in first-class cricket, surpassing his previous best of 183. In the process, he also completed 2,000 runs in FC cricket, in his 36th match.After S Mohamed Ali (5) perished cheaply, local lad Jagadeesan found a good partner in skipper R Sai Kishore (59 off 85 balls, 3x4, 3x6), who notched up his second FC half-century and first as captain. The right-left duo added 84 invaluable runs for the seventh-wicket stand as TN inched closer to the 400-run mark.Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 489 in 144 overs (N Jagadeesan 245*, M Boopathi Vaishna Kumar 67, R Sai Kishore 59; Akash Pandey 3-102). Railways 126-2 in 35 overs (Pratham Singh 76*; Sandeep Warrier 2-35)