Vijay Hazare Trophy: M. Vijay hands TN its fifth consecutive win

M. Vijay hits a century to steer Tamil Nadu to an eight-wicket win over Jammu & Kashmir.

File Photo: M. Vijay hit superb strokes all around the ground.

India batsman M. Vijay smashed a century (117) to power Tamil Nadu to an eight-wicket win over Jammu & Kashmir here on Friday. This was Tamil Nadu’s fifth consecutive win in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Chasing 234 for victory, Tamil Nadu romped home with two overs to spare. The 166-run partnership for the second wicket with B. Aparajith (86 n.o.) was the bedrock of the chase.

AS IT HAPPENED

Vijay, fresh from a stint in county cricket with Somerset, played superb shots all around the wicket. After a cautious start, the stylish right-hander went into overdrive to fashion his team’s win.

Qamran, Shubham shine

Earlier, sent in to bat, J&K made slow progress before three wickets — including that of captain Parvez Rasool (6) — pegged the team back. Opener Qamran Iqbal held firm and made 67 (87 balls, 7x4, 1x6). There were important contributions, too, from Shubham Singh Pundir (66), and Abdul Samad, as J&K finished with a respectable 238 for 9 in 50 overs.

For Tamil Nadu, left-arm spinner R. Sai Kishore was the most successful bowler, returning figures of 2 for 17 in his 10 overs. Left-arm spinner T. Natarajan (2 for 45) also took two wickets.

• Madhya Pradesh 282 for 7 in 50 overs (Naman Ojha 130, Anand Singh Bais 61, Diwesh Gurdev Pathania 4 for 50, Raj Bahadur Pal 2 for 58) lost to Services 283 for 3 in 47 overs (Ravi Chauhan 118, Rahul Gahlaut 107) by seven wickets. Points: Services - 4, MP - 0.
• J&K 238 for 9 in 50 overs (Qamran Iqbal 67, Shubham Singh Pundir 66, Abdul Samad 50, R. Sai Kishore 2 for 17, T. Natarajan 2 for 45) lost to Tamil Nadu 239 for 2 in 48 overs (M. Vijay 117, B. Aparajith 86 n.o.) by eight wickets. Points: TN - 4, J&K - 0.
• Tripura 285 for 8 in 50 overs (Bishal Ghosh 128, Tanmay Mishra 56, Ravi Bishnoi 2 for 47, A. Choudhary 2 for 54, Rahul Chahar 2 for 64) beat Rajasthan 238 all out in 47 overs (Mahipal Lomror 71) by 47 runs. Points: Tripura - 4, Rajasthan - 0.