Chennai: Former champions Tamil Nadu inched closer to an outright victory as it left Orissa struggling at 78 for four in its second innings after taking a huge 192-run first innings lead on the second day of the four-day Elite group Ranji Trophy match on Friday. Orissa, bowled out for 122 in its first essay on Thursday, produced yet another dismal batting display and still required another 114 runs to make the hosts bat again. For the second day running, Tamil Nadu bowlers ruled supreme with pace spearhead L Balaji (2/11) doing the damage removing Orissa openers cheaply to take his match tally to seven, while G Vignesh and M R Shrinivas shared the rest. Orissa Captain R R Parida (22) and Sujan Mohanty (0) were at the crease when play was called off due to bad light. Earlier, resuming at overnight 144 for 2, S Sriram and Hemang K Badani dominated the proceedings, adding 186 runs for the third wicket, but both missed out on hundreds. Sriram was the first to go when he was caught by Parida off Sanjay Satpathy for 94 which came off 167 balls and contained 14 hits to the fence. Badani (86-189b, 13x4) was out in the next over itself, castled by Pravani Mullick. Orissa bowlers came on top from then on, striking at regular intervals to restrict the hosts. S Badrinath (37) and last man Balaji (11) added 28 runs for the last wicket after seven wickets fell for 45 runs. Ajay Barik, Bipin Singh, Sujan Mohanty and Satpathy claimed two wickets each.

Tags: cricket, chennai, tamil nadu, orissa, ranji trophy, l balaji, g vignesh, m r shrinivas, r r parida, sujan mohanty, s sriram, hemang k badani, sanjay satpathy, pravani mullick, s badrinath, ajay barik, bipin singh, sujan mohanty.