Karaikudi Kaalai finally prevailed in a close encounter to score its first win of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) with an eight-run win over Albert Tuti Patriots in a low scoring match here on Saturday.
Chasing 112 for win, Patriots made heavy weather of a modest chase after a good start. Patriots was cruising at 55 for two at the end of the 10th over with opener Kaushik Gandhi and Anand Subramanian having got their eye in.
In the first ball of the eleventh over, Gandhi went chasing a wide delivery from medium pacer R. Rajkumar to get caught at point. This allowed the Kaalai’s to get back in the game, who grabbed the chance with both hands, picking four wickets in the next five overs for just 28 runs.
Pacer Ganapathy Chandrasekar was the pick of the bowlers for Kaalai with figures of three for 23 backing up his cameo with the bat — 28 from 17 balls — that helped his side post a competitive total. Ganapathy brought his experience into play taking pace off the deliveries on a slow wicket that made life difficult for the batsmen. The Patriots failed to find the boundary in the final six overs and was handed its second defeat on the bounce.
Earlier, it was a disciplined bowling effort from the Patriots to restrict Kaalai to just 111 for eight.
Electing to bat, openers M. Vijay Kumar and Anirudha fell in successive overs (end of 2nd and 3rd over respectively) playing expansive drives through the offside.
Once again skipper S. Badrinath waged a lone battle to keep the score moving without taking much risk for his 46-ball 49, but did not get any support from the other end with wickets falling around him.
By the end of the powerplay, Kaalai could manage only 19 for the loss of two wickets, the lowest so far in the tournament. The fielding too was very good and made the Kaalai’s work for every run and induced loose shots.
In the eighth over bowled by Crist, Vishal Vaidya pulled a short delivery that was stopped by a diving Anand Subramaniam at short mid-wicket. The frustration got to the batsmen who followed it with a wild swing the next delivery and a ball later was dismissed when he tried to clear the mid off fielder with L. Balaji taking a brilliant one-handed catch running backwards.
Brief scores:
Karaikudi Kaalai 111 for eight in 20 overs (S. Badrinath 49, C. Ganapathy 28, Aswin Crist three for 28, Washington Sundar two for 11) bt Albert Tuti Patriots 103 for nine in 20 overs (Kaushik Gandhi 27, Ganapathy Chandrasekar three for 23, R. Rajkumar two for 17).
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