Ranji Trophy: Bad weather plays spoilsport, TN 66 for 2

Bhubaneswar: Wet ground conditions and an overcast sky played spoilsport in the Ranji opener between hosts Odisha and Tamil Nadu in Cuttack with the visitors scoring 66 runs off 31 overs and losing two wickets.

After winning the toss, the hosts put Tamil Nadu in to take maximum advantage of the squally weather which delayed the start of the play at DRIEMS Cricket Stadium. The star-studded visitors had to toil hard for runs and it was evident from the pace of scoring with openers Abhibnav Mukund and Murali Vijay putting on 37 runs off 20.2 overs in 108 minutes before Vijay (15) was caught by Rakesh Mohanty off Alok Mangaraj. Mukund was joined by S Badrinath to steady the innings and the duo scored 21 runs off 7.4 overs in 43 minutes before the latter was bowled by Basanta Mohanty. Mukund (21) and Baba Aparajith (3), who played a key role in India winning the junior World Cup, were at the crease when stumps were drawn for the day. Tamil Nadu are the favourites in the match with their experience and past performance against Odisha while the hosts are desperate to begin the tournament on a winning note which has evaded them for quite some time. Besides, Odisha would be happy with today`s play as they were able to contain last year`s runners-up. Brief scores: (Tamil Nadu 66/2, A Mukund batting 21, M Vijay 15, Basanta Mohanty 1/26 and Alok Mangaraj 1/21). PTI