Captain Boopathi realises dream as TN lift U-23s lift crown

Chennai: When a young M Boopathi Vaishna Kumar, son of a farmer, watched the NPR College Ground in his hometown Dindigul from beyond the fences, he dreamt of playing competitive cricket at the venue one day.On Wednesday, when he lifted his first major trophy — Col CK Nayudu Trophy (men’s Under-23) title — as the Tamil Nadu captain beating Maharashtra by seven wickets, life seemed to come a full circle for the youngster.

“I started playing cricket when I was 13. I have always been interested in the game; my dad and uncle used to play local cricket. As a kid, I always thought that at least once I should play at the NPR Ground. It was a dream back then.

When we came here with friends, we would wonder, ‘Will they let us in?’ ‘Will I play here one day?’ That eagerness was always there.“So it’s a very special feeling. When I entered this ground, there was so much excitement. My family and childhood coach Venkataraman sir, who helped me a lot during the starting stages, were here for all three days. It was nice to have them around, though there was a bit of pressure as well. They were happy to see me lift the cup and lead the team,” the skipper told TOI.

Resuming the day at 309-8, TN were bowled out for 334 in their first innings, taking a 96-run first-innings lead. In the extended third session, Maharashtra were dismissed for 161 in their second innings, setting TN a target of 66 on the penultimate day. TN chased down the target in 20 overs to seal victory and complete a grand domestic double. Earlier, the Tamil Nadu U-23 men had also emerged champions of the BCCI State One-Day Trophy.Putting poor senior campaign behindThis double comes as a delightful ending to Tamil Nadu’s domestic season, especially after the senior team endured a horrendous campaign. Seven players from this squad — Boopathi, Mohamed Ali, G Govindh, Sachin Rathi, SR Athish, Sunny Sandhu and Amit Sathvik (who missed a few games due to injury) — were also part of that TN senior side that endured a poor run.How quickly they could recover from that disappointment became the focus for the youngsters, said Boopathi.

“Ups and downs are part of the game. How quickly we recover from that was the focus. We were disappointed, but we should enjoy cricket. We wanted to win big so that people would take notice and that was on our mind. All of us had this mindset. A lot of us came from the senior team, and we all wanted to move on from it, start fresh and win.

We knew that if we won, things would change for us and for the future of TN cricket,” said the left-hand batter.Coaching continuity pays offWhat worked in TN U-23s’ favour was the continuity in the support staff. Most of the players have been training under head coach Guru Kedarnath since their Under-16 days, and Boopathi said that familiarity, along with the clarity and freedom the coaches provided, proved pivotal.“The coach has known us since we were 16-year-olds and he stayed with us as we kept progressing. V Maruthi Raghav, the assistant coach, and Kanan, who is the trainer and physio, were extremely supportive throughout the tournament.

We had open conversations and were given the freedom to speak whenever we felt something needed to be said. Communication played a major role. Because of that, all of us took responsibility and our game awareness improved as well,” said the 23-year-old, who accumulated 400 runs in the tournament.Brief scores: Maharashtra 238 & 161 in 53.2 overs (Niraj Joshi 55; P Vignesh 3-42, Sachin Rathi 3-57). Tamil Nadu 334 in 115.5 overs (Kiran Karthikeyan 86; Abhishek Nishad 4-71, Kiran Chormale 3-62) & 67-3 in 20 overs. TN won by 7 wickets. Player of the Final: Kiran Karthikeyan (TN). Player of the Tournament: Sachin Rathi (TN).Top performers: Batting: Kiran Karthikeyan (668 runs). Bowling: Sachin Rathi (58 wickets).