Ranji Trophy: Rain halts TN's progress against Tripura

CHENNAI: Rain played spoilsport in the Ranji Trophy Group C match between Tamil Nadu and Tripura at the MA Chidambaram Stadium with only seven overs being possible on the third day on Monday.
Resuming at the overnight score of 332 for 2, the home side lost two wickets including that of centurion MS Washington Sundar and finished the day at 357 for 4 in 88 overs, taking a lead of 99 runs over Tripura in the first innings.
The left-handed opener fell for the addition of just three runs to his overnight score of 156, caught by Yashpal Singh off Abhijit Sarkar.
Dinesh Karthik, who flew down from Hyderabad where he was part of the India team for the T20 series against Australia, to play this game, lasted just seven deliveries for his five.
He hit one four before becoming Sarkar's second wicket.
Test star Ravichandran Ashwin joined Baba Indrajith (89 batting) in the middle and a few deliveries later, the rains arrived and play had to be stopped.
A combination of persistent rain and bad light meant an early end to the day's play.
The truncated third day would affect Tamil Nadu's hopes of an outright victory.
The team had conceded the first innings lead in the drawn encounter against Andhra Pradesh in the opening round.
Brief scores: Group C (Day 3): Tripura 258 in 96.1 overs
(Smit Patel 99, K Vignesh 4 for 41) vs Tamil Nadu 357 for 4 in 88 overs (MS Washington Sundar 159, B Indrajith 89 batting, Abhinav Mukund 76, Abhijit Sarkar 2 for 43).