Vidarbha pacer Aditya Thakare picked up his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, while left-handed batter Yash Rathod 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 quarterfinal here on Monday. Thakare, whose four-wicket burst had TN hanging on the ropes at 159/6 after the second day’s play on Sunday, broke the resistance of tail-ender Sonu Yadav (32) as Sai Kishore’a side was dismissed for 225 in 64.3 overs, giving Vidarbha a handsome 128-run first-innings lead. Vidarbha, who have not lost a single match this season, then overcame an unimpressive start to reach 169/5 at close on day 3, an overall lead of 297, with Rathod batting confidently on 55 (119 balls) in the company of Harsh Dubey (29 not out off 55 balls). Tamil Nadu, who were in dire straits at 159/6 on Sunday, lost their skipper Sai Kishore (7), who could add just one run to his overnight score. The team seemed to be heading for …