Vijay Hazare Trophy: Andhra ease past Tamil Nadu | Cricket News
CHENNAI: A clinical Andhra defeated Tamil Nadu by seven wickets in their Vijay Hazare clash at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Monday. Andhra’s left-arm pacer C Stephen (3-46) and off-spinner Mohd Shoaib Khan (3-24) were instrumental in dismissing TN for 176 before opener Ashwin Hebbar‘s unbeaten 101 took them home in just 29.1 overs.
On a wicket that was aiding the pacers in the first hour of play, Andhra reduced TN to 82-5 in 21 overs. B Aparajith (40) and Sonu Yadav (37) tried to halt the slide with their 56-run stand for the sixth wicket. However, TN innings didn’t last long once Shoaib dismissed Sonu in the 32nd over. Aparajith soon departed — in the 34th over — and TN’s innings concluded in 41.3 overs. “The toss proved to be crucial. Once we were inserted in — batting in the first hour proved to be a challenge. Having said that, I feel our batsmen should have applied themselves better. With the depth we have in our batting, we should have scored around 250,” coach D Vasu told TOI.
As the wicket eased out in the second half, Andhra made full use of it. Andhra’s Ashwin was the standout performer and his 84-ball knock contained 11 fours and 5 sixes. In the company of Ricky Bhui, Ashwin added 114 runs for the unfinished fourth wicket stand that helped Andhra conclude the chase in quick time. For TN, medium-pacer R Silambarasan (2-31) — making his list-A debut — shone with the ball. Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore (1-39) was the only other TN bowler to be among wickets.
TN will be keen to return to winning ways when they take on Madhya Pradesh in the next game on Wednesday. “We have three more matches remaining. The focus will be to win all of them,” said Vasu.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 176 in 41.3 overs (B Aparajith 40, Sonu Yadav 37; Stephen 3-46, Shoaib 3-24). Andhra 181-3 in 29.1 overs (Ashwin Hebbar 101 n.o.; Silambarasan 2-31). Andhra won by 7 wickets
