Dindigul Dragons fall short despite Baba Indrajith’s 50-run lead | Tamil Nadu Premier League, 2024

Salem Spartans defeated Dindigul Dragons by seven wickets in Match 6 of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2024 at Salem. Dindigul Dragons opted to bat first amid challenging windy conditions that initially favoured the pacers. Their innings got off to a shaky start as Shivam Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin fell early in the powerplay overs, piling the pressure on the batting side.

Despite early setbacks, Vimal Khumar’s 47 off 32 and Baba Indrajith’s 51 off 34 played a crucial role in Dindigul Dragons’ recovery. The duo added 64 runs for the third wicket to take the team to a competitive 149.

Harish Kumar and Sunny Sandhu were particularly effective for the Spartans, with two wickets each to dent Dindigul’s batting lineup, while Poiyamozhi and Aushik Srinivas contributed with one wicket each.

Chasing 150 to secure their first win of the season, Spartans made a solid start with openers S Abishiek and R Kavin putting on 59 runs between them. After Abishiek departed for 28 off 26 balls, Rajendran Vivek was promoted to pinch hitter. The tactical move worked wonders as he and Kavin switched to a more aggressive approach. Vivek, as usual, showed his boundary-hitting prowess while Kavin provided crucial support at the other end.

Kavin, the current holder of the orange cap for TNPL 2024, was eventually dismissed after a brisk 46 runs from 34 deliveries. Vivek’s innings also suffered a stroke of luck when Shivam Singh dropped a simple catch while Vivek was batting on 42.

Vivek (51* off 28 balls) continued to dominate the Dragons bowlers and finally chased down the target in the 19th over. Losing skipper Ashwin said: “I felt the wicket suited Salem’s style better. We were 20 runs short and I also felt the wicket behaved differently in the second half. If we had taken Vivek’s wicket early, the match would have been more exciting.”

The player of the match, Vivek, said, “I wanted to win the match in front of my crowd for the team in the last match. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do that. I am happy that we crossed the line today. I want to thank the people who came all the way to support me.”

The winning captain, Shijit Chandran, said: “I am happy with the win but we still have a lot of things to work on. While bowling, we knew the ball would not come to the bat and we wanted to keep it simple. We knew that once Vivek Raj gets going, no one can stop him. That’s the main reason why we moved him up the order.”

Short scores:

Dindigul Dragons 149/9 in 20 overs (Baba Indrajith 51, Vimal Khumar 47; Sunny Sandhu 2/23) lost to Salem Spartans 150/3 in 18.1 overs (Rajendran Vivek 51*, R Kavin 46; P Vignesh 1/23) with 7 wickets.

Player of the Match: Rajendran Vivek

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