TNPL 2019: Panthers prevails over Warriors in Super Over

Arun Karthick, Kousik help the Madurai side tie the game after Murali Vijay's heroics.

Super hero: Abhishek Tanwar’s all-round show in the Super Over (12 runs and two wickets) clinched it for Panthers.

Defending champion Siechem Madurai Panthers edged out Ruby Trichy Warriors in the Super Over and got back to winning ways in the Sankar Cement-TNPL at the NPR College grounds in Natham on Wednesday.

The Madurai side posted 12 runs in the Super Over, after the match had ended in a tie, and dismissed the Warriors for three.

Steady start

Earlier, put in, Warriors, bolstered by the presence of M. Vijay, began steadily. Vijay (78 n.o., 66b, 8x4, 2x6) struck three boundaries off Abhishek Tanwar in the third over to increase the scoring rate. With fellow opener K. Mukunth (32, 32b, 3x4) an assured presence at the other end, Warriors scored 46 for no loss in the PowerPlay.

The duo, however, managed only two boundaries from the seventh over to the 10th, as Warriors reached 73 at the halfway mark. Soon after, Vijay brought up his second half-century in as many matches with a six off R. Mithun. But, left-arm spinner Rahil Shah’s double strike in the 14th over pulled things back for the Panthers.

He first castled Mukunth to break an imposing partnership (98 off 81 balls) before removing S. Aravind three balls later.

K. Mani Bharathy, who walked in next, upped the tempo with a 12-ball 21, which included two fours and a six. But, the Panthers bowlers slowed down the run-rate by picking up wickets regularly.

Towards the end, Vijay was denied the big hits by some disciplined bowling. As a result, Warriors managed only 69 in the last 10 overs to finish on 142 for six.

In reply, Panthers, despite losing two wickets, raced to 59 in the first six overs with opener K.B. Arun Karthick (46, 26b, 7x4, 1x6) scoring the bulk of the runs.

Karthick’s 1000

Skipper P. Shijit Chandran provided solid support to Karthick, who reached 1000 TNPL runs (26 innings) along the way, as Panthers moved briskly towards the target. However, seamer L. Vignesh dismissed both batsmen off successive deliveries in the 10th over, reducing the Madurai side to 81 for four.

Panthers scripted a recovery through a 24-run stand for the fifth wicket between J. Kousik and Sabin Somatha. After the fall of Sabin and Tanwar, the youngster from Coimbatore tried his best but the contest went to a Super Over.