Tiruppur Tamizhans’ skipper Sai Kishore is a happy man. His team lifted their maiden TNPL title. The thought of having won the coveted prize of the most successful league run by any state association affiliated with the BCCI in the country is yet to sink in. It is unbridled joy, not just for himself but for the entire team that worked so hard to reach their goal. They won six matches in a row to clinch the title after a not-so-impressive start.
“I’m very happy and pleased with the boys and the way they played and showed character in crunch games,” he said. “We did not have a great start, but once we began winning, the boys showed pluck and carried forward the momentum right into the final.”
He added, “In T20, it can never be a one-man show, so I would attribute our victory to teamwork, where everyone chipped in and contributed towards our goal of winning the TNPL trophy.’’ If one looks at the successful teams in the slam-bang version of the shortest format of the game, the runs that the team puts at the top of the order in the power play had a bearing on the results.
Tiruppur openers Tushar Raheja and Amit Sathvik had a brilliant inning where they gave good starts for their team in almost all games. In the final, the duo had a century stand that took away the game from the defending champions Dindigul Dragons led by the legendary R Ashwin. Tushar finished as the highest scorer with 488 runs with a strike rate of 186. His calculated assault at the top of the order helped Tiruppur gain advantage in many matches.
Amit played a perfect foil to Tushar and the duo was the envy of most teams. “Our openers Tushar and Amit were spot on and played many vital innings for us. Their partnership at the top of the order gave us a platform to exploit later,” said Sai Kishore. “Tushar played fluently as we gave him all the support to go and express himself freely. He is a good timer of the ball and can read various lengths easily. The main reason for his success is that he plays the ball and not the bowler.”
Another reason for the success of Tiruppur in the tournament was their bowling attack. The team had the likes of T Natarajan, R Silambarasan, and A Esakkimuthu (he has taken 14 wickets in his maiden season). “We had a good attack as well as a lot of variety. Esakki must be the find of the season. He was nippy, quick, and could trouble the best,” he noted.
At the TNPL final, Dindigul was the favourites to defend the crown. With Ashwin leading from the front by opening the bowling and batting, everyone put their money on the team. But a small pep talk did the trick. “I told the boys to take the final as just another league game and not put pressure on themselves. I also told our batters not to be intimidated by some of the big names in the Dindigul ranks. We told them to play their natural game on the merit of the ball and luckily it worked for us,” shared Sai Kishore.
Another aspect of Tiruppur’s success was the free hand that the skipper got to marshal his resources. At times, he promoted himself at the top of the order to score some runs quickly. “The team management had confidence in me and gave me a free hand to go about the very handy task. In T20, you have to go by instinct, so sometimes it may work or backfire. Since I had the freedom, most things worked for us,” he said.
TNPL done, Sai Kishore is now off to England for county cricket.