By Admin 
The Tamil Nadu under-23 team clinched the BCCI Men’s State-A one-dayers trophy, beating Uttar Pradesh by 56 runs in the final, at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday. S. Mohamed Ali led the way for TN with a fine all-round performance, scoring 57 (67b, 3×4, 4×6) and then taking a five-for (10-1-46-5).
CHENNAI: Batting first, TN made 297, riding on half-centuries from opener S.R. Athish, Mohamed Ali and Manav Parakh. Defending a target of 298, pacer Sunny Sandhu’s tight opening spell of 5-1-8-0 helped build the pressure and wickets fell from the other end. UP quickly slumped to 115 for seven by the 27th over.
From there, Prasahant Veer made 87 and kept UP in the hunt for a while but was left with too much to do in the end.
“It is a great feeling. We really gelled as a team and everyone contributed to the victory. We weren’t reliant on just one or two players,” said skipper M. Boopathi Vaishna Kumar, who was also the second-highest run-scorer for the side with 420 runs.
Mohamed Ali, the player-of-the-final added, “I just kept it simple and bowled to my strengths. I lost a under-19 final a few years ago and to win a trophy means a lot. This win will is a great boost for our careers.”
The scores: Tamil Nadu 297 in 49.3 overs (S.R. Athish 53, M. Boopathi Vaishna Kumar 37, S. Mohamed Ali 57, Manav Parakh 57, R.K. Jayant 32, Prashant Veer 3/30) bt Uttar Pradesh 241 in 47.5 overs (Sameer Rizvi 41, Prashant Veer 87, S. Mohamed Ali 5/46).
Player-of-the-match: S. Mohamed Ali (TN); player-of-the-series: Prashant Veer (UP).
The triumphant Tamil Nadu squad with its reward.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement