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, 16×4, 4×6) and a ton off the bat of No. 4 Digvijay Patil (106, 138b, 8×4). 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.

Tamil Nadu u-23 openers K.T.A. Madhava Prasad (150 batting, 302b, 20×4) and S.R. Athish (137, 203b, 19×4, 3×6) shone bright with centuries as Rest of India u-23 faced the heat on a day the sun was beating down at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here.

When the curtains were brought down on the second day — Friday — TN was well and truly in the ascendancy, sitting at 368 for one with an 189-run lead. The 250-run stand between Madhava Prasad and Athish deflated the hopes of the RoI bowlers, who employed different tactics only to get no returns for nearly five hours in total.

Madhava Prasad was content playing second fiddle to Athish for much of the first-wicket alliance. The right-hander used his feet well against the spinners, with one such move enabling him to bring up his ton. To join his opening partner in the century club, he reverse-swept left-arm tweaker Emanjot Singh Chahal with authority for a boundary.

Athish had luck on his side. The southpaw was dropped twice while inching closer to his hundred — by Angkrish Raghuvanshi at mid-on on 81 and 96 — and completed his milestone with a double over fine-leg off the last ball of the first session. Emanjot broke the mammoth partnership, having Athish caught at backward short-leg.

Madhava Prasad and Kiran Karthikeyan (56 batting, 98b, 8×4) stayed unconquered at the end of a fruitful day for the home team.

The scores: Rest of India u-23 179 vs. Tamil Nadu u-23 368/1 in 100 overs (S.R. Athish 137, K.T.A. Madhava Prasad 150 batting, Kiran Karthikeyan 56 batting).

Angkrish Raghuvanshi is back where he belongs. He is doing what he loves the most – playing cricket. The 22-year-old was deprived of that blissful feeling after being sidelined for three months with a finger injury, sustained while on Kolkata Knight Riders duty in the IPL.

But Raghuvanshi is on a comeback trail and the runs are starting to flow from his willow. After hitting three half-centuries for Mumbai in the Thimmappaiah Memorial tournament in Karnataka, he struck 51 for Rest of India u-23 on the opening day of the encounter against Tamil Nadu u-23 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday.

“It was a pretty bad injury, and it took me months to return to cricket. But as a cricketer, you just want to be on the field and play. This is what I want to do. I always want to be on the ground rather than on a hospital bed,” said Raghuvanshi.

“[During my recovery], I had the hunger to get back on the field. Every day I was thinking about how I could get better. The months did not fly… I was like: ‘I should be on the pitch’. I am grateful to be playing cricket again. I have no issues in my body, and I am feeling really good about my batting. I am excited for the season, but I am not looking too far ahead,” he added.

Pillar of strength

An interaction with Raghuvanshi may be incomplete without the mention of Abhishek Nayar, his long-time mentor and head coach at KKR in IPL 2026. “He is everything to me. I have learnt a lot about life and cricket from him. Anytime I have a problem, I go to him. He is a pillar [of support] in my life. I speak to him almost every day”.

Kolkata Kolkata Knight Riders rode on blistering knocks by Finn Allen (93), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (82 not out), and Cameron Green (52 not out) to get the better of Gujarat Titans by 29 runs in a high-scoring IPL 2026 contest at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday (May 16, 2026).

After logging its highest total of the season (247 for two), with some assistance from the visiting side’s fielders’ largesse, KKR restricted GT to 218 for four to stay alive in the race for the playoffs.

Allen took his time to understand the conditions — as the ball held on to the wicket a bit in humid conditions — before unleashing his strokes. Using his timing and fast hands, predominantly on the onside, he cashed in on two lives, on 14 and 33, to hammer the GT bowlers.

Sai Kishore had Allen, who added 44 with skipper Ajinkya Rahane and 95 with Raghuvanshi for the first two wickets, caught at deep midwicket.

Raghuvanshi, enjoying a lucky DRS call early on, played some superb shots — including a brave scooped six off Kagiso Rabada. He displayed awareness and temperament to get to his fifth half-century this season.

Raghuvanshi, who had a reprieve on 52 off Rabada, later took 24 off a 25-run penultimate over bowled by Mohammed Siraj. Cameron Green, who was let off by Arshad Khan on 23 off Rashid Khan, impressed with his pulled hits to the boundary. He formed an unbeaten 108-run stand off 52 balls with Raghuvanshi.

During GT’s chase, Sunil Narine dismissed Nishant Sindhu for one after opener Sai Sudharsan retired hurt.

KKR, despite losing Matheesha Pathirana to a hamstring issue, applied the brakes in the PowerPlay (56 for one).

GT skipper Shubman Gill (85) proved his class yet again to score his fifth fifty in this edition.

Excelling on either side, Jos Buttler supported Gill as the duo collected 128 runs off 73 balls.

A limping Varun Chakaravarthy, nursing a foot injury, bowled well until Gill gathered 22 runs off his final over.

The wily Narine scalped Gill in the 17th over to put the pressure back on GT.

Sai Sudharsan returned to join Buttler. But the two could not achieve the target as GT’s wait for a play-offs berth lingered on.

After spinners Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine set the tone for Kolkata Knight Riders’ seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, the 166-run chase was handled with calm authority.

Finn Allen’s blistering start meant KKR was well ahead, and from there, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and skipper Ajinkya Rahane stitched together a risk-free 84-run partnership to put the visitor on the brink of victory. Raghuvanshi, who raised a composed half-century – his third of the season – said that his focus remained in the moment rather than on the scoreboard.

“With the older ball, the pitch got a little tougher. It got slower, so the start that Ajinkya bhaiya and Finn gave us was very crucial. We got in front of the game in the PowerPlay and it got easier from there.”

In a dramatic moment, Kolkata Knight Riders’ wicketkeeper-batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi was on Sunday (April 26, 2026) given out for obstructing the field during their Indian Premier League clash against Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow.

The 21-year-old Raghuvanshi became only the fourth batter in IPL history — all Indians — to be declared out in this fashion.