Vidarbha pacer Aditya Thakare (5-34) picked up his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, while left-handed batter Yash Rathod (55 not out) struck a half-century in the second innings as last year’s runners-up Vidarbha took a commanding 297-run lead against Tamil Nadu in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final here on Monday.

Sai Kishore’a side were dismissed for 225 in 64.3 overs, giving Vidarbha a handsome 128-run first-innings lead. Vidarbha then overcame an unimpressive start to reach 169-5 at stumps on Day Three, an overall lead of 297.