Ranji Trophy: Andre Siddharth's 81 goes in vain as Rajasthan take 89-run lead
toi
newspoint|14-10-2026
JAIPUR: Left-arm spinner Ajay Singh Kukna bagged a five-wicket haul to help Rajasthan take a crucial 89-run first innings lead against Tamil Nadu on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Tuesday. Rajasthan ended the eventful Day 3 at 81-4 with an overall lead of 170.
Vice-captain Mahipal Lomror (25 batting) and Kartik Sharma (30 batting) were holding fort with an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 50 runs after the hosts were tottering at 31/4.
Unless a dramatic batting collapse happens on Wednesday morning, it will be a herculean task for the Sai Kishore-led team to pull off a victory from the Elite Group D opening encounter.
A disciplined bowling effort backed by some excellent fielding from Rajasthan brought them back in the match. A slice of luck also helped them and put the rivals on the backfoot.
Adopting a cautious approach, TN resumed at their overnight score of 167/4 with C Andre Siddharth and Sonu Yadav. Eying a first-innings lead on a flat track, both the batters didn’t take any risk and slowly built the innings. After adding just 36 runs in 24.5 overs, a terrible mix-up between them gifted the hosts the wicket of Yadav.
Siddharh tried to repair the damage with Washington Sundar as they put on 61 runs for the sixth wicket.
But Kukna turned things around with a gem of a delivery that uprooted the stumps of Siddharth (81). From 264/5, TN lost the rest of the wickets for 10 runs in a span of 4.2 overs in an extraordinary batting collapse.
The 29-year-old Kukna (5-51) ended with his seventh five-wicket haul, while left-arm pacer Akash Singh was finally rewarded for his lion-hearted effort with a couple.
TN tried to put up a fight with the ball as Sai Kishore picked up two quick wickets with the new ball in Rajasthan’s second innings. Pacers Saravana Kumar and Sonu Yadav took a wicket each and there were hopes of a comeback.
However, Kartik-Lomror pair’s gutsy batting at the fag end of the day denied TN any further success.
“It was a special effort. I am happy to strike at the crucial juncture to help my team gain a vital lead. We didn’t leak many runs when we were not getting wickets earlier in the day and that ultimately helped us. Manav and I both come from the same place (Sriganganagar) and we always enjoy bowling in tandem. We are in a good position now and can try for an outright win tomorrow,” Kukna told TOI after the day’s play.
BRIEF SCORES
Rajasthan 363 and 81/4 in 34 overs (Kartik Sharma 30 batting, Mahipal Lomror 25 batting, Karan Lamba 13, Rohan Rajbhar 10; Sai Kishore 2-25, Saravana Kumar 1-4, Sonu Yadav 1-16) vs Tamil Nadu 274 in 98.4 overs (C Andre Siddarth 81, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 58, Narayan Jagadeesan 55, Washington Sundar 26, Baba Indrajith 26; Ajay Singh Kukna 5-51, Akash Singh 2-74).
Vice-captain Mahipal Lomror (25 batting) and Kartik Sharma (30 batting) were holding fort with an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 50 runs after the hosts were tottering at 31/4.
Unless a dramatic batting collapse happens on Wednesday morning, it will be a herculean task for the Sai Kishore-led team to pull off a victory from the Elite Group D opening encounter.
A disciplined bowling effort backed by some excellent fielding from Rajasthan brought them back in the match. A slice of luck also helped them and put the rivals on the backfoot.
Adopting a cautious approach, TN resumed at their overnight score of 167/4 with C Andre Siddharth and Sonu Yadav. Eying a first-innings lead on a flat track, both the batters didn’t take any risk and slowly built the innings. After adding just 36 runs in 24.5 overs, a terrible mix-up between them gifted the hosts the wicket of Yadav.
Siddharh tried to repair the damage with Washington Sundar as they put on 61 runs for the sixth wicket.
But Kukna turned things around with a gem of a delivery that uprooted the stumps of Siddharth (81). From 264/5, TN lost the rest of the wickets for 10 runs in a span of 4.2 overs in an extraordinary batting collapse.
The 29-year-old Kukna (5-51) ended with his seventh five-wicket haul, while left-arm pacer Akash Singh was finally rewarded for his lion-hearted effort with a couple.
TN tried to put up a fight with the ball as Sai Kishore picked up two quick wickets with the new ball in Rajasthan’s second innings. Pacers Saravana Kumar and Sonu Yadav took a wicket each and there were hopes of a comeback.
However, Kartik-Lomror pair’s gutsy batting at the fag end of the day denied TN any further success.
“It was a special effort. I am happy to strike at the crucial juncture to help my team gain a vital lead. We didn’t leak many runs when we were not getting wickets earlier in the day and that ultimately helped us. Manav and I both come from the same place (Sriganganagar) and we always enjoy bowling in tandem. We are in a good position now and can try for an outright win tomorrow,” Kukna told TOI after the day’s play.
BRIEF SCORES
Rajasthan 363 and 81/4 in 34 overs (Kartik Sharma 30 batting, Mahipal Lomror 25 batting, Karan Lamba 13, Rohan Rajbhar 10; Sai Kishore 2-25, Saravana Kumar 1-4, Sonu Yadav 1-16) vs Tamil Nadu 274 in 98.4 overs (C Andre Siddarth 81, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 58, Narayan Jagadeesan 55, Washington Sundar 26, Baba Indrajith 26; Ajay Singh Kukna 5-51, Akash Singh 2-74).
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