Aditya, bowlers place TN in command

A stroke filled 74 by Adityaa Srikkanth and some more good work by the bowlers helped Tamil Nadu to be a in a position of considerable strength at stumps on the second day of the South Zone Vijay Merchant Trophy (under-16) match against Goa at Chennai on Tuesday.

After dismissing Goa for 171, Tamil Nadu were in a shaky position at 56 for three at close of play on the first day. However, Adityaa helped bring about a revival. Tamil Nadu continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and were 115 for eight. But Adityaa, son of former Indian captain K Srikkanth, stood firm and at last found support in the No 10 batsman I Varun. The two added 45 runs for the ninth wicket off 16.2 overs before Adityaa was out. Adityaa batted 2-1/2 hours, faced 114 balls and hit three fours. Varun (19 not out) and last man T Kumaran (13) with a last wicket partnership of 24 runs gave Tamil Nadu the lead.

Having conceded the lead unexpectedly, the Goan batsmen went down without a fight in their second innings. They lost wickets at quick intervals with Varun, Arun and Sivakumar picking up two wickets each at economical cost.