TNPL 2024: Sanjay guides Trichy Grand Cholas over SKM Salem Spartans; Chepauk Super Gillies beats Dindigul Dragons

Sanjay and Jafar Jamal (32) stitched a 77-run partnership (44b) for the fourth wicket as Cholas amassed 198 for five.

Trichy Grand Cholas players celebrate after won the match against SKM Salem Spartans by 35 runs. | Photo Credit: Periasamy M/ The Hindu

All-rounder R. Sanjay Yadav’s quickfire 68 (33b, 4x4, 6x6) helped set the foundation for Trichy Grand Cholas’s impressive 35-run win over SKM Salem Spartans at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground here on Sunday.

Asked to bat first, Grand Cholas got off slowly, with the top-order struggling to hit boundaries and crawled to 58 for three at the halfway mark. Sanjay and Jafar Jamal (32) then turned things around, stitching a 77-run partnership (44b) for the fourth wicket as Cholas amassed 198 for five.

Despite struggling with his hamstring, Sanjay put on an exhibition of clean hitting and was severe against the pacers. The southpaw started by pulling Harish Kumar for a maximum over square-leg and meted out a similar treatment to Sunny Sandhu. He then cut Harish Kumar down to size in the 18th, smashing the pacer for three sixes, the first of which - a stylish flick over fine-leg - took him to his half-century. Cameos from R. Rajkumar (18 n.o. 5b) and P. Saravana Kumar (17 n.o., 6b) ensured Cholas finished strongly, plundering 74 off the last four.

In reply, the Spartans started well when R. Vivek went after pacer K. Easwaran, collecting a brace of boundaries and sixes in a 22-run fourth over. He then lofted Saravana Kumar (three for 28) for consecutive sixes down the ground, but the bowler had the last laugh when he had Vivek caught at long-on. From there, the Spartans lost the way during the middle overs. Muhammed Adnan Khan (40) and Sunny Sandhu (29) tried their best to keep the game alive, but the Trichy side’s bowlers kept getting regular breakthroughs to bundle out Spartans for 163 and seal their second win.

In the second match of the day, Chepauk Super Gillies defeated Dindigul Dragons by nine wickets in a rain-curtailed seven-over game. Put into bat, Dragons made 64 for six, riding on skipper R. Ashwin’s unbeaten cameo of 45 (20b, 3x4, 4x6). In reply, N. Jagadeesan (32 n.o.) and skipper B. Aparajith (31 n.o.) made short work of the target as the four-time champion romped home with 13 balls to spare. 

Brief scores:

Trichy Grand Cholas 198/5 in 20 overs (R. Sanjay Yadav 68, Jafar Jamal 32, M. Poiyamozhi 3/56) bt SKM Salem Spartans 163 in 18.3 overs (Muhammed Adnan Khan 40, R. Vivek 33, Saravana Kumar 3/28, Rajkumar 2/31, Anthony Dhas 2/33).

Dindigul Dragons 64/6 in 7 overs (R. Ashwin 45 n.o., Abhishek Tanwar 2/15, G. Periyaswamy 2/17) vs Chepauk Super Gillies 65/1 in 4.5 overs (N. Jagadeesan 32 n.o., B. Aparajith 31 n.o.).