CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu won the final of the Cooch Behar tournament on virtue of first innings lead over Gujarat. RK Jayant’s invaluable 91 and a resolute 42 from R Pravin proved to be the difference in the end as it allowed the visitors to take a lead of 33 runs in the summit clash of the age-group tournament at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday.
It seemed like Gujarat would walk away with the honours but that was before Jayant and Pravin’s 104-run stand for the eighth wicket. Needing an outright win to claim the title, the hosts declared at 172/7 to leave the visitors with a target of 140 in a minimum of 40 overs.
But knowing they already had the Cup in the bag, they never really threatened to go after the target. After 21 overs with the visitors at 55/1, play ended.
“We are a very happy lot,” said J Hemchudeshan, the visitors’ lead spinner with 47 tournament scalps.
“Teamwork and players stepping up their game at the right moment helped us bag the title. Our coach Shanmugham sir’s guidance too came in handy.”
Overnight, Tamil Nadu required 23 runs with three wickets in hand to take the lead.
“Overnight, we were a bit anxious as we needed 23 runs with three wickets in hand. Jayant and Pravin played brilliantly to post a century stand. This partnership at the crucial moment helped us bag the title. Hats off to Jayant for his 91 valuable runs and Pravin’s solid support.”
Brief scores: Gujarat 380 & 172/7 decl in 25.1 ovs (Chavda 49, Rudra 33, Gohil 42) drew with TN 413 in 150.1 ovs (Kishore 54, Ambrish 85, Jayant 91, Pravin 42, Keval 3/116, Khilan 5/164) and 55/1 in 21 ovs.