Tamil Nadu U-19 scintillate

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The Tamil Nadu under-19 team have retained the Vinoo Mankad Trophy (South Zone) in style.

With this win TN have completed a hat-trick of triumphs. The zonal champions will play the national knockouts in the second round of November.

Chief coach PC Prakash was all praise for the youngsters who met expectations. “This was a complete team effort.

For some of the boys it was their first tryst at this level and they did well to cope with pressure. As defending champions they were expected to do well and they did just that.

There were strong individual performances but the heartening part was each member doing the small things right when the chips were down,” said Prakash.

For selection committee chairman, S. Sharath it was another victory to cherish. “It is easy to say it was only a zonal championship but what has to be remembered is that the boys after a train journey had to play five games in seven days.

It speaks volumes about their fitness levels as well. As always there is scope for improvement,” said the Ranji veteran.

B. Aparajith was the standout performer with the bat aggregating 266 runs. Skipper B. Indrajith was not far behind in terms of adding value. The 158 runs from his bat were crucial as well. Bharath Shankar, M. Shahrukh Khan and Ganga Sridhar Raju had their moments as well.

“If one batsman in the top-order failed the other one stood up to be counted.

It is important for players to make up for their colleagues’ failure in order to sustain a campaign,” said Prakash. It is time for the team to step up in the next round and prove they are good enough to challenge the best sides in the country.

Wicket-keeper R. Nilesh Subramanian did well with the gloves (eight victims). “After a moderate start, Nilesh started to pick the rungs from the second game.

As far as batting goes, he is batting in a unfamiliar position at five or six but he would be required to play a bigger role in the knockouts if one of the openers are unavailable,” added Prakash.

Left-arm spinner R. Aushik Srinivas led the attack from the front, accounting for 11 wickets. Seamers Aswin Crist and J. Koushik did a commendable job as well giving the side early breakthroughs.

“Having played at the first-class level, Aushik has the experience and he used it well. The new ball bowlers and spinners worked well in tandem. They showed good discipline throughout the tournament,” concluded Prakash.