R. Sai Kishore produced a match-winning five-wicket haul to help Chepauk Super Gillies cruise to a six-wicket victory over Karaikudi Kaalai in a Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) match at the M. A. Chidambaram stadium on Friday.
The 20-year-old spinner’s regular wickets coupled with his water-tight economy ensured Karaikudi never got itself in a position to post a defendable total on board. Kishore’s spell of 4-0-13-5 is the best ever recorded figures in the two seasons of the competition.
The lanky left-arm spinner mixed his speeds and length which got the Karaikudi batsmen in a fix. From 83 for four in the start of the 14th over, Karaikudi was reduced to 92 for eight at the end of Sai Kishore’s spell. This spell derailed Karaikudi’s hopes of any late dash in its innings.
Kishore, first, drew out the visitors’ set batsman S. Lokeshwar (48 off 46 balls) to scoop a catch to Sasi Dev at point. Bowling in straight lines with varying pace, he then cleaned up the lower middle order to leave the visitors reeling.
Early blows
A small spell of showers before the toss made Chepauk’s skipper R. Satish put the opposition in to bat first. The decision proved fruitful as his side was rewarded with key wickets of Vishal Vaidhya for 1 and S. Badrinath for 0 within the opening two overs of the match.
Kishore’s first victim was R. Srinivasan who offered a easy return catch while looking to glance a straight delivery which stopped on the pitch. Karaikudi limped to a total of 110, but that proved to be insufficient.
In the second innings, Karaikudi had a glimmer of hope when it removed Thalaivan Sargunam and S. Karthik cheaply. Hari Gopinath, surviving a dropped catch on six, played a steady hand with a 39-ball 45 in the company of Sathish (26 not-out) to help Chepauk complete the victory in the 15th over of its chase.
This win puts Chepauk in a strong position to make the play-offs with six points of its five matches.
Brief scores:
Karaikudi Kaalai 110-9 (S. Lokeshwar 48; R. Sai Kishore 5-13, R. Sathish 1-12) lost to Chepauk Super Gillies 113-4 (H. Gopinath 45, R. Sathish 26; S. Sam 2-28) by six wickets .
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