Hosts Tamil Nadu were in a strong position at the end of the first day of their three day encounter against Andhra in the State Under 22 tournament. On winning the toss at the Alagappa Chettiar Institute of Technology Ground, skipper Vasanth Saravanan decided to bat first. All rounder Rajat Bhatia opening the innings cracked a century and vindicated his skipper's decision.

After surviving a loud shout for LBW off the very first ball he faced, the MRF and Tamil Nadu all rounder Rajat Bhatia moved from strength to strength. In the last season, Bhatia played a couple of vital knocks in the Ranji Trophy and regained his touch today. In an innings that saw 15 boundaries and one hit that sailed past the ropes, Bhatia made 135. Although an unbeaten 59 from Vasanth Saravanan boosted the total, it was Rajat Bhatia who made all the difference. Of an eventual total of 274/3, Rajat Bhatia contributed 135.

For the bowlers there was no joy on the day. Ram Mohan, Faiq Ahmed and Srinivas took a wicket each after a hard day's toil. When the players take the field tomorrow, Tamil Nadu hold all the aces.

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