With the national selection committee to pick the team for New Zealand soon,Tamil Nadus S Badrinath is leaving no stone unturned in a bid to keep his place in the squad. On Thursday,Badrinath struck a sensational double hundred (200) while Rahul Dravid gave further evidence of his steady return to form (138) to help South Zone post a mammoth 442 for six in a single day against North Zone. They barely missed the record for the most runs scored in a days play in the Duleep Trophy 445 by West on the fourth day of their match against Central way back in the 1987-88 season. Rajkot has always been a special venue for Badrinath,who had got his first India call while playing here. It has been a lucky ground for me. I love batting here and its the first time that Ive scored a double hundred in a day, he said later. Souths impressive total would not have been possible without Dravid and Badrinaths 312-run stand for the third wicket. Dravid,however,must thank Amit Mishra,who missed a sitter at point off Himachal Pradesh paceman Vikramjeet Malik,when the former India skipper was on five. After that,Dravid didnt look back,scoring freely on either side of the wicket. He struck three consecutive fours off Malik and,with Badrinath joining in from the other end,runs came at the rate of 5.42 an over during their long stint together. It had started looking like a one-day match at one stage,and though it was a pleasant day,the North players were made to sweat. Badrinath slammed 22 runs off Mishras 14th over,in which he hit three sixes and a four,to sum up the highlights of his 259-ball knock,which contained 24 boundaries and four sixes in total. The ball was swinging a bit initially,but with Rahul at the other end,it was much easier to bat on later, Badrinath said. Dravids stuck 15 fours and faced 173 deliveries. Things hadnt started all that well for South,however,after they won the toss and elected to bat. Opener Abhinav Mukund fell for 10,trapped by an incoming delivery from Malik. Robin Uthappa was out cheaply as well,lbw to Punjab paceman Manpreet Gony. But Norths next opportunity to celebrate came hours later,when Dravids stumps were uprooted by a googly from Mishra. Dinesh Karthik (4) and R Ashwin (17) departed without much of an impression,but when stumps were called,Arjun Yadav (43) and M Suresh were holding fort with enough runs already on the board. Souths only worry going into Friday will be missing the services of paceman S Sreesanth,who had a stomach upset at the very last moment.
