Southpaw K. Vishal Vaidhya (84 n.o., 57b, 6x4, 5x6) and left-arm spinner M. Silambarasan (three for 21) starred in Dindigul Dragons’ thumping nine-wicket win over iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans in the Shriram Capital-TNPL at the NPR College grounds in Natham (Dindigul district) on Monday.
Opting to bowl first, Dragons were provided an early breakthrough by L. Vignesh. He castled opener S. Siddharth in the first over with an in-swinger. S. Aravind (32, 23b, 5x4), who walked in at No. 3, hit a couple of boundaries off R. Suthesh in the second over to ease the pressure.
Tamizhans were dealt another blow when skipper S. Aniruda pulled a hamstring and retired hurt. Aravind kept the scoreboard ticking as Tamizhans managed 42 for one in the PowerPlay. Silambarasan, who was introduced into the attack in the seventh over, struck immediately removing Suresh Kumar. He trapped Aravind lbw in his next over to reduce the Tiruppur side to 53 for three.
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Maan Bafna and Tushar Raheja steadied the innings with a 38-run stand for the fourth wicket. But, Dragons’ skipper C. Hari Nishaanth broke the partnership, castling Bafna and dismissing R. Rajkumar off the next ball. Raheja was stumped by K. Mani Bharathi off Silambarasan in the 15th over as Tamizhans slipped to 98 for six.
However, M. Mohammed and Aswin Crist put up a fight, adding 46 off 31 balls for the seventh wicket. Suthesh, bowling the final over, removed the two and conceded only a couple of runs as Tamizhans finished at 145 for eight.
In reply, Dragons’ openers Vishal Vaidhya and Hari Nishaanth made a racy start, putting on 66 off 52 balls. After the latter fell to Mohammed, Mani Bharathi (38 n.o., 29b, 4x4, 1x6) provided good support to Vaidhya, who notched-up his half- century off 36 balls. Vaidhya showcased his big-hitting skills as Dragons surpassed the target in the 19th over.
Tuesday's match: Nellai Royal Kings vs. Siechem Madurai Panthers, 7.15 p.m.
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