CHENNAI: Riding openers Hari Nishaanth and N Jagadeesan’s half-centuries, Dindigul Dragons beat Madurai Panthers by 45 runs at home to reach the Tamil Nadu Premier League final for the second successive time on Tuesday. They will meet Chepauk Super Gillies in Chennai on Thursday.
Chasing 176, defending champions Madurai got off to a bad start, losing in-form opener KB Arun Karthik and skipper Shijit Chandran inside six overs. All-rounder J Kousik scored a 31-ball 40. But with no support from the other end, Madurai were bowled out for 130. They found the going tough after off-spinner Mohan Abhinav dismissed Nilesh Subramanian (12) and A Sarath Raj (32) in the eighth over.
For Dindigul, Nishaanth and Jagadeesan shared a 101-run stand to help the team post 175/6. Coming in at No 3, NS Chaturved hit a 13-ball 35, while pacer M Mohammed chipped in with a 9-ball 32. Wicketkeeper-batsman Jagadeesan replaced R Ashwin as captain for this clash.
Brief scores: Dindigul Dragons 175/6 in 20 ovs (Nishaanth 51, Jagadeesan 50) bt Madurai Panthers 130 in 19.5 ovs (Kousik 40, Silambarasan 3/18, Rohit 3/20).