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. 

Raghuvanshi.

Digvijay.

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. 

Vignesh.

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).

Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium will host the final of the Duleep Trophy from September 6 to 10. The BCCI has decided to move the summit clash from Bengaluru to allow fans a chance to watch the country’s top players in action. While the initial plan was to hold the entire tournament at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in the Garden City, only the quarterfinal and semifinals will now be held on campus.

Last year, the Duleep Trophy was held fully behind closed doors at the CoE, much to the disappointment of the fans. Earlier this month, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia had explained that there were restrictions on allowing fans at the CoE but had promised to consider hosting the final alone in a proper stadium.

“There are some government restrictions on how we use this land, and because of that, we cannot have crowds in this campus,” Saikia had explained.

Though Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium was also under consideration, the board has decided to shift it to the MAC Stadium.

The two quarterfinals will be played from August 23 to 26, with East Zone taking on North-East while North and West face off in the other encounter. The winners will take on last year’s winner Central Zone and runner-up South Zone respectively in the semifinals to be held from August 30 to September 2.