DINDIGUL: On Tuesday evening at the NPR College cricket ground in Natham, Dindigul Dragons skipper Narayan Jagadeesan stood with a wry look on his face, executing a perfect double teapot while doing so. Jones Tuti Patriots all-rounder R Sathish had just notched up a 31-ball 50 courtesy a single-handed biff over the ropes at deep mid-wicket. Their score now read 150/5 in 18.3 overs. Just 45 balls ago, that same, huge LED screen had flashed 72/5.
Despite them still topping the table of the third edition of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) at the end of it — they won this clash with four wickets to spare — Dindigul’s outing with the ball against Tuti served as yet another reminder of a problem they have been saddled with since the start of their campaign: losing control during the death overs.
That their willow-wielding arsenal has always helped them pip their opponents is evident from the presence of three Dindigul men in this season’s top-10 run-getters. Skipper Jagadeesan has literally led from the front, scoring 214 runs at a stellar average and strike-rate of 71.33 and 133.75. His fellow opener C Hari Nishaanth and R Vivek, who saved this match for them, have aggregated 275 between them, consuming only 157 deliveries. The likes of NS Chaturved and M Mohammed bring even more firepower to their table.
But their first match of this season revealed the start of the aforementioned crack, one that has been papered over by batsmen in all five matches. Dindigul had pinned Ruby Trichy Warriors to the mat, reducing them to 87/5 in 12.5 overs, in a chase of 173. Barring the over that followed and the 19th, the rest saw runs being leaked in double digits. Trichy squeaked through with four wickets in hand. Even in their last clash, against VB Kanchi Veerans, Dindigul had the upper hand before the death overs, having reeled them in to 87/4. But Mokit Hariharan and Francis Rokins floored the pedal so hard that they ended up racing to 166/4.
His team’s death-bowling numbers are bound to elicit more double teapots from Jagadeesan. They have leaked an average of 60.6 in the last five overs this season. Before their clash against Tuti, Dindigul had been reliant on speedsters at the death.With pacers M Mohammed, Adithya Arun, and R Rohith having become the designated pinatas in this stretch, Jagadeesan tried to shake things up against Tuti by bringing on tweakers Silambarasan and Yazh Arun Mozhi. It didn’t work, out as the Dindigul spinners doled out easy gifts, with Sathish and Malolan Rangarajan cashing in on them. The two raked in 101 from just 52 balls. While Sathish blazed his way to a 41-ball 74, Rangarajan hit 37 off 24.
After their opening loss against Trichy, Ashwin summed up the loss. “We have to bowl better. This is just the start, and I hope the boys can turn it around. Most of them have not been in such situations, defending in the final overs.” Even after five clashes, Dindigul’s bowlers are still in the process of doing so.
rahul.ravi@newindianexpress.comBrief scores: Jones Tuti Patriots in 177/8 in 20 ovs (R Sathish 74, Malolan Rangarajan 37; M Abhinav 2/33) lost to Dindigul Dragons 178/6 in 19 ovs (R Vivek 62, M Mohammed 36 n.o; R Sai Kishore 2/36).