R. Sai Kishore, for a change, let his bat do the speaking as he stroked a well-paced half-century (55, 34b, 8×4, 1×6) that arrange a cushty 69-run win for IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans over Nellai Royal Kings in the penultimate league recreation of TNPL-9 on the NPR College floor right here on Sunday.
The victory meant Tamizhans completed second in the standings and can meet Chepauk Super Gillies in Qualifier-1 on Tuesday.
Sai Kishore’s knock consolidated platform set by the openers V.P. Amith Sathvik and Tushsar Raheja, which helped his facet publish a formidable complete of 182 for 5.
Though the in-form Tushar was out of kinds in the PowerPlay, Amith greater than made up for it, smashing pacer Emmanuel Cherian for 4 boundaries and a stylishly lower six over level.
Tushar then discovered his rhythm in the seventh over, slicing and pulling left-arm spinner Sachin Rathi earlier than Sonu Yadav snared him with an excellent return catch.
Sai Kishore used his lengthy levers successfully and saved it easy by trying to hit down the bottom, with 5 of his eight boundaries in the ‘V’.
Later, he picked a slower one from Sonu and launched over midwicket as he raced to his landmark.
In reply, the Royal Kings pursuit hit a roadblock early when left-arm spinner S. Mohan Prasath struck off consecutive deliveries in the sixth over and managed simply 26 for 3 in the PowerPlay.
G. Ajithesh and S. Rithik Easwaran saved the hopes flickering briefly, getting their facet to 76 for 3 in 11 overs, however as soon as the previous was dismissed, the struggle and the hope of qualification flamed out.
Thriller
In the ultimate league match, Trichy Grand Cholas pulled off a heist and sneaked into the playoffs with a four-wicket win over Dindigul Dragons in a thriller that went right down to the wire. The victory meant SKM Salem Spartans misplaced out on fourth place on Net Run Rate regardless of being tied on six factors with Trichy.
Electing to bat, Dragons managed simply 150 for six driving on Vimal Khumar’s unbeaten 55. In pursuit, Grand Cholas have been in big hassle at 24 for 4 in the fifth over. However, a 98-run fifth-wicket alliance between J. Kousik (42) and R. Sanjay Yadav (55 n.o.) turned the tide for the Trichy facet.
These groups will meet once more in the Eliminator on Wednesday.
The scores: IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans 182/5 in 20 overs (V.P. Amith Sathvik 41, Tushar Raheja 32, R. Sai Kishore 55, Sonu Yadav 3/33) bt Nellai Royal Kings 113 in 19.4 overs (S. Rithik Easwaran 39, T. Natarajan 3/14, S. Mohan Prasath 2/28). Toss: NRK.
Dindigul Dragons 150/6 in 20 overs (Shivam Singh 37, R. Vimal Khumar 55 n.o., V. Athisayaraj Davidson 2/30, Saravana Kumar 2/19) misplaced to Trichy Grand Cholas 151/6 in 19.3 overs (J. Kousik 42, R. Sanjay Yadav 55 n.o., Periyasamy 2/38, Sasidharan 2/23). Toss: Dragons.
