Vijay Hazare Trophy: Aparajith stars as Tamil Nadu win 7th straight match

CHENNAI: B Aparajith is having a dream run at the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. His allround show helped Tamil Nadu cruise past Railways by 8 wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday. The win ensured TN - who currently top the Group C table with 28 points - make the knockout stages of the competition. Aparajith's 4 for 30 helped the Dinesh Karthik-led side restrict Railways to 200-9.The 25-year-old followed that by scoring an unbeaten 111 - comprising seven fours and a six - to help TN chase down the target in 44.1 overs and register their seventh successive win in the competition.
A target of 201 wasn't going to test the strong TN batting line-up. However, TN had an ordinary start as they lost their openers - Abhinav Mukund (11, 1x4) and Murali Vijay (6, 1x4) - with 17 on board in the 5th over. The Aparajith-Vijay Shankar (72 n.o., 3x4, 1x6) pair then took charge with their unbeaten 186-run stand for the third wicket. With the pitch on the slower side, both players relied on the ones and twos to keep the scoreboard ticking. The duo accrued 134 runs in singles and twos. "The Railways' bowlers kept it tight to start with. But once our partnership grew, we were able to find the boundaries," Aparajith told TOI. During the course of the innings, Aparajith became the tournament's leading run-getter with 439 runs to his name from 7 innings. "I missed out a century in the last game but was pleased to score one today. This performance was very satisfying," Aparajith said.
Aparajith was also pleased with the way his bowling has come to the fore in this tournament. His part-time off-spin put brakes on Railways' scoring rate. Aparajith was brought into the attack as early as the 5th over of the innings. He got the first breakthrough for TN in his third over when he clean-bowled Railways opener Mrunal Devdhar for 19. "I have always worked hard on my bowling and am happy to have contributed for the team's cause," he said.
TN will next take on Madhya Pradesh on October 12.
Brief scores: Railways 200-9 in 50 overs (Manish Rao 55, Aparajith 4-30). Tamil Nadu 203-2 in 44.1 overs (Aparajith 111 n.o., Vijay Shankar 72 n.o.). Tamil Nadu won by 8 wickets