Tamil Nadu gained the upperhand, securing a 74-run first innings lead against Bengal on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match at the M A Chidambaram stadim here Thursday.
After ending their first innings at 263 all out, built on Baba Aparajith's superb knock of 103, Tamil Nadu struck back with medium pacer M Mohammed (4 for 39) and spinner Rahil Shah (5 for 46) ripping through the visitor's batting line up to bowl it out for 189 in 65.5 overs.
At close, the hosts were 12 for 1 at stumps, an overall lead of 86 runs.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu resuming at overnight 218 for 7 added 45 runs with Aparajith reaching the well-deserved ton.
His 273-ball knock studded with eight fours and a six ended when he holed out to Manoj Tiwari of Pradipto Pramanik's bowling.
The eighth wicket partnership between Aparajith and M Mohammed (24, 66 balls) yielded 64 runs and enabled Tamil Nadu push the total past the 250 mark.
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Aparajith, who came in at No.3, was the ninth batsman to be dismissed.
For Bengal, young paceman Ishan Porel, who struck Vital blows, emerged the best bowler with 5 for 48.
In reply, Bengal suffered two early jolts as the impressive Mohammed sent back Kousik Ghosh (2) and Sudip Chaterjee (0) with just eight runs on the board.
Things got worse in the 6th over when Mohammed got skipper Tiwari caught by Abhinav Mukund for a duck and Bengal were reeling at 11 for 3.
Left-handed opener Abhishek Kumar Raman (98, 173 balls, 10X4, 1X6) waged a lone valiant battle.
He negotiated the spin and pace with equal felicity and was the ninth batsman to be dismissed.
Rahil Shah, who has had a fluctuating performance before this match, came into his own on the sluggish Chepauk surface to pick a five-wicket haul.
His victims included Abhishek Raman apart from Anustup Majumdar (16).
Tamil Nadu began their second innings with the aim of tightening its grip on the match but lost the experienced Mukund early as he was castled by veteran Ashoke Dinda for 2.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 263 all out in 106 overs (B Aparajith 103, M Kaushik Gandhi 51, Ishan Porel 5 for 48, Pradipta Pramanik 3 for 82) vs Bengal 189 all out in 63.5 overs (Abhishek Raman 98, Rahil Shah 5 for 46, M Mohammed 4 for 39).
At Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala 62 and 38 for 4 in 12 overs vs Madhya Pradesh 328 all out in 120 overs (Rajat Patidar 73, Naman Ojha 79, Jalaj Saxen 4 for 120).
At Hyderabad: Himachal Pradesh 351 all out in 126.4 overs (P S Chopra 110, M J Dagar 61, Tanay Thyagarajan 4 for 86) vs Hyderabad 146 for 1 in 51 overs (Akshat Reddy 86 batting).