Half-centuries from B. Indrajith (75, 68b, 6×4, 2×6) and Vijay Shankar (71, 57b, 2×4, 7×6), followed by spinners Varun Chakaravarthy (three for 34) and R. Sai Kishore (two for 55)’s disciplined bowling efforts, ensured Tamil Nadu beat Chhattisgarh by 73 runs in the final league game of Vijay Hazare Trophy at Vizzy Stadium, Vizianagaram on Sunday.
TN’s fourth win ensured the side finished second in the table (Group D), scoring 18 points and qualifying for the knockouts behind Vidarbha, which won all six games. Sai Kishore’s men will take on Rajasthan in the pre-quarterfinals in Vadodara on January 9.
Put into bat first, TN’s top-three of Tushar Raheja, N. Jagadeesan and M. Boopathi Vaishna Kumar gave the side a solid start before Indrajith anchored the innings through the middle overs to help the five-time champion amass 301.
Indrajith added 53 for the fourth wicket with Pradosh Ranjan Paul and then added 61 alongside Vijay Shankar for the fifth.
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Once Indrajith was dismissed, TN had a mini-collapse, though Vijay Shankar ensured the runs kept coming, scoring at a brisk pace.
In reply, Chhattisgarh got off to a strong start as openers Bupen Lalwani (54) and Ashutosh Singh (71) forged a 118-run alliance. But Sai Kishore gave the breakthrough when he had Ashutosh caught and bowled. It was the opening the TN needed as Chhattisgarh lost four wickets in the space of five overs and slumped to 132 for four.
Varun accounted for two of the four scalps, and from there on, TN kept chipping away slowly even as the asking rate started to climb rapidly. Only Gagandeep Singh offered some resistance, scoring a brisk 33 (35b), but he lacked support from the other end. Chhattisgarh’s chase suffered a huge blow early in the game when its batting mainstay, Shashank Singh, got injured while fielding and couldn’t bat.