Follow UsDindigul Dragons had a perfect night on Sunday, as they defeated Siechem Madurai Panthers by seven wickets in the evening match at NPR College of Engineering and Technology Cricket Ground, Dindigul.
The Dindigul Dragons opted to field first and were dominating right from the start. P Saravana Kumar bowled the first over and dismissed S Karthik for just four runs.
J Kousik then joined C Hari Nishaanth in the middle. The experienced duo added a 56-run-stand for the second wicket. When the team started to look good, Dindigul Dragons bounced back by dismissing in-form Nishaanth. The Siechem Madurai Panthers captain got stumped by B Indrajith on 24.
Kousik, on the other hand, consistently found boundaries. He took on M.Mathivanan for a six and a four. Ravichandran Ashwin trusted experience and brought Varun Chakaravarthy. The 'mystery' spinner did not disappoint, as he grabbed two wickets in his first two deliveries of the match.
Subodh Bhati added more damage to the Siechem Madurai Panthers line-up. He dismissed K Deeban Lingesh and D Sudhan in consecutive deliveries. With that, Bhati became the Purple Cap Holder of the tournament.
Ashwin grabbed the wicket of the dangerous Washington Sundar to reduce the Siechem Madurai Panthers to 97/7. In the end, D Rahul's cameo of 14 (8) helped the Siechem Madurai Panthers reach 123/10.
Ashwin used six bowlers, and everyone was impressive throughout the game. Bhati and Saravana were the stars with the ball. They grabbed three wickets each. Chakaravarthy grabbed two wickets, while Ashwin and Mathivanan grabbed one apiece.
Chasing 124 to win, Dindigul Dragons had a decent start to the game as D Rahul smashed two boundaries in the first over. However, he couldn't continue his attack as Gurjapneet Singh dismissed him for 9(6). A couple of deliveries later, R Vimal Khumar fell for Gurjapneet's fuller delivery as Dindigul Dragons suddenly found themselves at 17/2.
Gurjapneet Singh came back to dismiss S Arun as well. Adithya Ganesh, the impact player for Dindigul Dragons, gave more strikes to the experienced Indrajith. The latter even smashed three boundaries off D Rahul to keep things going despite the fall of wickets.
Indrajith got to his fourth half-century in style by launching Sundar's delivery for a six. He reached the landmark in 35 deliveries. The wicketkeeper scored a couple more sixes and a four in the same over, helping the Dindigul Dragons reach 100 in the 12th over.
Indrajith took the team home in 14.1 overs. He remained unbeaten on 78 (48), including seven fours and four sixes. Notably, this is Indrajith's highest-ever score in T20s. Adithya played the perfect second fiddle for Indrajith. The impact player of Dindigul Dragons made an unbeaten 22*(22). The duo shared a partnership of 92 (63), which helped the team cross the finish line easily. With this win, the Dindigul Dragons move to the top of the table.
For the Siechem Madurai Panthers, only Gurjapneet managed to grab at least one wicket. He was impressive in his four overs, as he ended with 3/18.
Talking about his knock, Baba Indrajith said, "We are happy with this win. I'm glad to contribute to the team. I don't think this knock is my best as I want to contribute even more in the upcoming games".
Subodh Bhati, the player of the match, said, "I'm glad to contribute to both wins. Also, I'm lucky to have Ashwin as captain. He keeps motivating me to pick up wickets".
After the loss, Siechem Madurai Panthers captain Hari Nishaanth said, "Our batting was disappointing today. If we had stayed longer and played according to the situation, we would have won the game. The batters failed to do that."
The winning captain, Ravichandran Ashwin, said, "We were able to bring out the best in our bowling department. If we work with confidence, anyone can do well on the surface like this".
On Monday, the last year's finalists, Lyca Kovai Kings and Chepauk Super Gillies, will face off in the 9th game of the Shriram Capital Tamil Nadu Premier League. This year, the Chepauk Super Gillies are at the top of the table with two wins. Lyca Kovai Kings have one win and as many losses from their two matches.
(Image and Match Report courtesy TNPL)