We were always in command of the chase: Aparajith

CHENNAI: Murali Vijay's 131-ball 117 was instrumental in Tamil Nadu registering an eight-wicket win over Jammu & Kashmir in their Vijay Hazare clash at Jaipur on Friday. Vijay, playing his first match in the tournament after completing his county commitments with Somerset, looked in command from the word go. Chasing J&K's target of 239, TN started off with the Vijay-Abhinav Mukund (21, 3x4) pair raising 55 runs for the opening wicket in 13.5 overs.Once Abhinav departed, Vijay partnered with B Aparajith (86 n.o., 4x4) to accrue 166 runs for the second wicket from 30.4 overs that took TN to the doorstep of victory. While Vijay's innings was laced with 14 boundaries, Aparajith only had four to his name.
Vijay departed with TN still 18 away from the target, but Aparajith and Vijay Shankar (9 n.o., 1x4) ensured their side crossed the finish line in 48 overs. "Despite the wicket becoming a little slower as the match progressed, we were always in command of the chase. Vijay and me were clear that we would not look to do anything fancy and things worked well for us. It is always a nice feeling to have runs under your belt," Aparajith told TOI. Aparajith has so far managed 241 runs from 5 outings in this tournament.
Earlier in the day, TN won the toss and chose to field first. Contributions from J&K opener Qamran Iqbal (67, 7x4, 1x6), Shubham Pundir (66, 5x4, 1x6) and Abdul Samad (50, 5x4, 1x6) helped the side finish on 238-9. For TN, left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore (10-1-17-2) shone with the ball and was well-supported by left-arm pacer T Natarajan (2-45).
Friday's win was the fifth in a row for the Dinesh Karthik-led side. They will next take on Tripura on October 6.
Brief scores: Jammu and Kashmir 238 for nine in 50 overs (Qamran Iqbal 67, Shubham Singh Pundir 66, Abdul Samad 50). Tamil Nadu 239 for two in 50 overs (M Vijay 117, B Aparajith 86 n.o.). Tamil Nadu won by 8 wickets