Ton-up Lakshay and Mohana Kumar propel TN

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu rode on top knocks from Lakshay Jain (110, 9x4) and S Mohana Kumar (113, 18x4) to end the opening day of their U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy clash against Kerala at the NFC Grounds in Hyderabad on a strong note with the scoreboard reading 269 for 3. Tamil Nadu called it correctly and chose to make first use of the conditions.
The day truly belonged to the pair of Lakshay and Mohana Kumar as they went on to add 207 runs for the second wicket stand in 78.1 overs.All the wickets to fall in the Tamil Nadu innings were run-outs.
Both Lakshay and Mohana gauged the pace of the wicket well and mixed caution with aggression in order to keep their side afloat. While left-handed Lakshay's innings had 9 sweetly-timed hits to the fence, his partner's essay was studded with 18 fours. The duo's stand clearly took the wind out of Kerala team's sails. Mohana Kumar was clearly the aggressor of the two and didn't leave one scoring opportunity pass by. Lakshay chose a more sedate approach and ably supported his partner.
Interestingly, in their last encounter against Andhra earlier this month, both Lakshay and Mohana Kumar had played their parts to perfection. Andhra had declared with their innings at 509 for 4 and Tamil Nadu had gone on to score 388 for 9. While Lakshay - who top-scored for the side - missed out on a well-deserved century by three runs, Mohana Kumar's contribution was 31.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 269 for three in 94 overs (Lakshay Jain 110, Mohana Kumar 113) vs Kerala