CHENNAI: Jagatheesan Kousik claimed four wickets as Siechem Madurai Panthers defeat Ruby Trichy Warriors by 36 runs in their last league match of the Tamil Nadu Premier League in Salem on Sunday. With the win, Madurai finished third in the points table and will take on Lyca Kovai Kings in the Eliminator in Salem on Tuesday. The loss also led to the ouster of Trichy from the tournament.
Earlier, Trichy won the toss and decided to field. Despite the loss of their star batter Arun Karthik KB, Madhurai's innings was held together by contributions from Anirudh Sita Ram (34 off 26) at the top while Sunny Sandhu went all guns blazing with an unbeaten 24 off just 8 balls to help the team post 136/6 in 20 overs. M Poiyamozhi (2/24) was the pick of the bowlers for Trichy.
Chasing a modest target, Trichy were off to a good start, with both their openers putting on a 44-run partnership. However, just when they seemed to be en route to an easy win, Kousik completely changed the match's course.
Brief scores: SMP 136/6 in 2o ovs (Anirudh Sita Ram 34; M Poiyamozhi 2/24) bt RTW 100 in 18.4 ovs (Kousik J 4/15, Kiran Akash L 2/23). SS 124/8 in 20 ovs (Daryl Ferrario 38; M Silambarasan 2/28, Rajendran Vivek 2/25) bt DD 106/9 in 20 ovs (Vimal Khumar 43, Periyaswamy 3/11, Ashwin 2/16).