TNPL 2023: Nellai Royal Kings overcomes Madurai Panthers in Eliminator

Chasing 212 for victory, Panthers needed six off the last delivery, but left-arm spinner Mohan Prasath held his nerve against P. Saravanan, conceding just a single.

Nellai Royal Kings batter G. Ajitesh in full flow during the match against Siechem Madurai Panthers in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) match held in Salem. | Photo Credit: LAKSHMI NARAYANAN E/ The Hindu

Nellai Royal Kings prevailed over Siechem Madurai Panthers by four runs in a thrilling Eliminator match of the TNPL (Tamil Nadu Premier League) at the Salem Cricket Foundation stadium on Saturday.

Chasing 212 for victory, Panthers needed six off the last delivery, but left-arm spinner Mohan Prasath held his nerve against P. Saravanan, conceding just a single, after being hit for a maximum off the penultimate delivery.

Thanks to this win, Royal Kings will meet Dindigul Dragons in the second Qualifier at Tirunelveli on Monday.

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The chase was set up by V. Aaditya’s well-paced innings of 73 (50b, 6x4, 2x6) after S. Lokeshwar set the tone with a quick 40. 

The duo added 63 runs for the second wicket before Lokeshwar ran himself out while taking off for a quick double.

Aaditya and Swapnil Singh added 98 runs for the third wicket, off just 60 balls, and kept the former champion on track. 

However, Sonu Yadav and M. Poiyamozhi got Royal Kings back into the game with tight overs towards the end. Poiyamozhi used his cutters well and had Aaditya caught at midwicket.

Earlier, Nidhish Rajagopal made up for a slow start to his innings with some clean hitting later on to slam 76 (50b, 2x4, 6x6) as Royal Kings got to 211 for six after being asked to bat first.

He built on the platform set by G. Ajitesh, whose 50 (30b, 7x4, 1x6) ensured the Nellai side got off the blocks in a flash as it plundered 66 in the PowerPlay.

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The diminutive Ajitesh went on a boundary spree when he took apart Ajay Krishna with a hat-trick of boundaries and then a six over fine-leg in the fifth over. In the next over, he went after left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh, cutting and lofting him for boundaries off successive deliveries.

At the other end, Nidhish started slowly and struggled to get going against spinners M. Ashwin and Saravanan, who snuck in five good overs without conceding a boundary after the PowerPlay.

However, in the 12th over, Nidhish found his mojo when he hit consecutive sixes off Ajay. From there on, the left-hander was unstoppable as he took on the spinners, depositing them over the fence with ease and quickly raced to his half-century.

Later, Rithik Easwaran played a vital cameo 29 (10b, 3x4, 2x6) to take Royal Kings past 200, which proved crucial in determining the outcome of the result.