By his own admission, Hemang Badani's best innings at any level of the game came against Orissa in a Ranji Trophy Super League clash in 1998-99. The wicket at the Chidambaram Stadium in Madras was a wretched one as Badani pointed out: "It was actually very dangerous, you could get hit any time. You had balls shooting off a good length and flying past your face every now and then."

After skipper Robin Singh won the toss, the hosts sent Orissa packing for 194 in just 57.1 overs, Thiru Kumaran grabbing a six wicket haul. In reply, Tamil Nadu lost WV Raman without scoring to Debashis Mohanty but closed out the opening day on 96/1. The 114 run second wicket partnership between Badani and Anand George ended early next morning. Two more wickets fell before Badani consolidated again in the company of JR Madanagopal, the two forging a 97 run fifth wicket stand. The 22-year-old southpaw swept S Khan to the fine-leg boundary to reach his second Ranji Trophy century.

With the score on 285, Badani was finally dismissed by off spinner Sanjay Satpathy after occupying the crease for more than seven hours. His 122 had come off 298 deliveries and included seventeen strokes to the fence. Tamil Nadu piled up 483/7, thanks to a late assault from Reuben Paul, before declaring early on the third day. The Orissa batsmen put up a marginally better showing in the second innings, collecting 248, but could not prevent an innings and 41 run defeat on the final day. Badani's knock was the highest score of the match. In the course of his innings, the lad also passed 1000 runs in his 21st game in the competition.