TIRUNELVELI: An ancient city located on the western banks of Thamirabharani river, Tirunelveli is known for two things: halwa and Pothigai Thendral (winds on the eastern slope of Pothigai Hills). Playing a cricket match here is no easy task in July and August, since the two months constitute Aadi Maasam , the windiest period of the year. The third edition of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) — which kick-started in Tirunelveli on July 11 — has already seen wind influence matches. Unlike any venue, ICL Ground in Sankar Nagar is comprised of small stands that are open, allowing more wind to pass.
The first match at the ground, between Dindigul Dragons and Ruby Trichy Warriors, saw the former drop a few high catches at fine leg and square leg, where the ball was hit against the wind. Those misses eventually culminated in a Dindigul loss, while they were defending 169. During their second encounter against Siechem Madurai Panthers last Friday, they still couldn’t get hold of the ball due to wind, dropping a couple of catches again. But they made use of this factor with the bat, chasing 170 with ease.
N Jagadeesan’s 68 off 42 — which anchored Dindigul’s innings — saw the timing-reliant batsman make the most of the strong breeze at the ground, scoring 62 per cent of his runs on the off-side, the arc which offered most wind-assistance. Dindigul skipper R Ashwin had credited that nine-wicket victory to their lessons learnt in windy conditions.
“In our last game, our pacers had been bowling a lot from the end where the wind was bowling towards leg side, which worked against us. Even in terms of catches in the deep, if a slog is against the wind, the boys are pretty much waiting for the ball. It swirls a lot. Even a lot of top teams may take some time to adapt to these conditions.” On Sunday, Jones Tuti Patriots captain Kaushik Gandhi — who scored his first TNPL ton — did exactly what Ashwin had told his boys to do: go with the wind. Gandhi hit 13 fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 111. All his three aerial biffs came with the wind, with the ball just about evading fielders placed right at the ropes twice; he’d pretty much been handed two lives by the strong breeze at the venue. Even VB Kanchi Veerans’ Baba Aparajith, the losing skipper, acknowledged how influential wind has been so far.
“It is a huge thing in Tirunelveli. We need to plan according to in our matches,” he said after his team’s 48-run loss.
Brief scores: Jones Tuti Patriots 191/3 in 20 ovs (Kaushik 111 n.o, Anand 37) bt VB Kanchi Veerans 143/9 in 20 ovs (Siva 33; Athisayarj 2/32, Malolan 2/31, Akash 2/32); i Dream Karaikudi Kaalai 162/7 in 20 ovs (Mann K Bank 44, Aditya 36; Rakesh 3/22) tied with Lyca Kovai Kings 162/6 in 20 ovs (Abhinav 59, Ashwin 34, Shahrukh 32). Kovai won in One Over Eliminator.
srinidhi.pr@newindianexpress.com