CHENNAI : It has been nothing short of a fairy tale for Siechem Madurai Panthers as they clinched their maiden title in the third edition of Tamil Nadu Premier League. The team had lost all the matches in the first two seasons. For skipper D Rohit, losing the opening match against Dindigul Dragons acted as a wake-up call for the team. Unlike previous years, it was an all-around performance from the team — KB Arun Karthik was the leading run-getter with 472 runs and Abhishek Tanwar was the highest wicket-taker with 15 scalps — that made Madurai come out victorious.
Though new to TNPL, Rohit has been playing in Sri Lanka since 2014. He represented Chillaw Marians Cricket Club where he has played 35 First Class, 25 List A and 13 T20 matches. Rohit revealed that playing in the island nation helped him understand his role better.“I played at number three in Sri Lanka. When you are playing outside Tamil Nadu, the pressure and responsibility will be more. The experience of playing with a completely new bunch in a new environment has helped my game a lot.”
For a new captain like Rohit, having the likes of Karthik, X Thalaivan Sargunam and Shijit Chandran made things simple. This was evident in many matches where one could see Karthik changing the field placement from one end and Chandran having a chat with the bowlers on a regular basis.
“Experience of KB, Thalaivan and Shijit played a key part. Even though I have played with players like Varun at the U-13 level, captaincy was something new to me. So, before the match, I would share my bowling plan with Shijit and he would help me on how to go about it. I was a little nervous when I was made captain.”In addition to that, Rohit revealed that coach J Arunkumar — who helped Karnataka win a domestic treble — played an important role in helping him hone his decision-making skills.
This year also saw Madurai, who had been heavily reliant on Karthik and Chandran in the past two seasons, break that trend and put up a collective batting performance. Contributions from Sargunam (two fifties) and Chandran (second-best for the team with 213 runs) helped them notch up five wins on the trot after their opening loss.
All-rounders like Tanwar and J Koushik also chipped in when the top guns failed to click. “KB was in marauding form throughout. Having someone who can stay till the end and finish off the game was a huge advantage. In the past two years, KB and Shijit were the only two notable performers. But this time we had good batting even down the order,” Rohit added.
srinidhi@newindianexpress.com