Tamil Nadu bags u-23 title with outright victory

The Tamil Nadu u-23 team began its season on the best possible note, comprehensively beating Rest of India u-23 by six wickets on the final day at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here. 

Fixed a target of 149 in 46 overs for an outright victory, the home team did more than enough in the last two sessions on Sunday. Having conceded the first-innings lead, RoI had no option but to make TN bat again to stand any chance of bagging the trophy. 

The away side did so after declaring its second essay at 431 for seven, built on a splendid double century from opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi (203, 281b, 16x4, 4x6) and a ton off the bat of No. 4 Digvijay Patil (106, 138b, 8x4). While both batters enjoyed slices of luck during their 249-run third-wicket stand, Raghuvanshi was rewarded for his immaculate strokeplay on a surface where the ball turned throughout and kept low at times. 

Left-arm spinner P. Vignesh (five for 144) was the chief contributor for TN, with his victims including Raghuvanshi. A few minutes after reaching his double hundred with a single over sweeper cover, the right-hander holed out to the deep midwicket fielder. RoI lost five wickets for just 32 runs before declaring its second innings. 

TN had a few hiccups in the chase, but the opposition rarely threatened to pull off a miracle.   

The scores: Rest of India u-23 179 & 431/7 decl. in 90 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 203, Ayush Jethwa 58, Digvijay Patil 106, P. Vignesh 5/144) lost to Tamil Nadu u-23 462 & 150/4 in 34.5 overs (K.T.A. Madhava Prasad 42). PoM: Madhava Prasad.