Tamil Nadu captain R Sai Kishore won the toss and put Railways in to bat on Monday at Chepauk. Sonu Yadav took three wickets as the seamers got early help from the moisture. Railways reached 184 after Zubair Ali hit 75, while the pitch later showed its dry, breaking side.

Sonu Yadav swung the new ball, Zubair Ali counter-attacked, and an off-spinner called Mondal had Tamil Nadu in trouble by stumps

Heavy rain over the past few days has kept the Chepauk pitch under covers. A green tinge suggested that it could help the seamers in overcast conditions. What lay beneath it was a matter of curiosity for both teams, when it came to choosing the XI and to deciding what to do on winning the toss.

For the second match in a row, Tamil Nadu captain R Sai Kishore won it and put the opposition in. On a pitch with plenty of moisture, the seamers did the early damage, Sonu Yadav in particular, and Railways were 7 for 3. The spinners, led by Sai Kishore, had them at 123 for 9. It was much the script of the game against Uttarakhand last week.

If Gurjapneet Singh broke Uttarakhand's back then, on Monday it was the turn of Sonu, a medium-pacer who relies extensively on swing. Overcast skies are a rarity in Chennai. The pitches in the First Division here tend to favour spinners, so seamers have had little to do, and the local conditions have often held back the development of fast bowlers. Playing his first first-class match at Chepauk, Sonu used the help. He took three wickets with the new ball, two of them lbw, and finished with 3 for 46.

After that opening, Railways were never going to get away from the Tamil Nadu spinners. The turn was not sharp, but the moisture let the ball rush on and test the edges. Sai Kishore took three wickets for 53, and J Hemchudeshan two in five overs.

Tamil Nadu have struggled for some years to finish the job, and did not finish it here. Once the moisture went and the ball softened, Zubair Ali counter-attacked, making 75 off 121 balls, with Himanshu Sangwan alongside him. He took Railways to 184, which looked too few at first. The stand kept Railways in a game that Tamil Nadu seemed to have in hand.

What followed was a twist Tamil Nadu had not expected so soon. They had thought the pitch would show its dry side once the moisture went. With the rain, the groundstaff had been wary of watering it much, and the black soil began to break up. The Railways spinners were in the game earlier than they themselves had expected.

Sangwan made the first breakthrough, removing Vimal Kumar, out for a nought for the second innings running. The Tamil Nadu batters had no trouble with the Railways seamers. Then the spinners came on, off-spinner Toufik Uddin Mondal in particular. Tamil Nadu, who had expected to close the day on top, were soon battling to stay in the game.

The moisture had gone, but the surface was dry enough that the odd ball stopped. With sharp turn and bounce in play, the conditions set Tamil Nadu a different problem.

N Jagadeesan was bowled by an off-spinner for the second innings running. Against Uttarakhand he played the wrong line to a ball from round the wicket and lost his off-stump. On Monday Mondal bowled him through the gate.

Mondal was not done. After testing Pradosh Ranjan Paul's edges, he saw the left-hander go for a drive. The slowness of the surface made the shot risky, and Paul gave a simple return catch, which Mondal took.

Baba Indrajith and Andre Siddarth saw Tamil Nadu to stumps at 71 for 3. If the conditions stay the same on Tuesday, Indrajith's game against spin could count for a lot. All eyes will be on the strip.

Brief scores: Railways 184 (Zubair Ali 75; Sonu Yadav 3/46, Sai Kishore 3/53) vs TN 71/3.