TIRUNELVELI: It took merely 32 balls for Dindigul Dragons to knock Tuti Patriots out of the game and remain unbeaten in this edition of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). Subramania Siva’s men were left reeling at 27/5 by Dindigul’s pacers, pretty much dashing all their hopes of chasing a tall target of 174. The pace trio of R Rohit, J Kaushik and Trilog Nag wrecked Tuti’s batting line-up to hand Dindigul a 40-run victory.
Earlier, wicketkeeper-batsman N Jagadeesan carried forward his good form with yet another fifty, while skipper R Ashwin too notched up his maiden fifty to help the team post 173/7 after opting to bat first. Even for Tuti, who were coming off a nail-biting win against Kovai Kings on Wednesday, this target was a tough ask. In the three matches played at ICL ground before Saturday’s double-header, teams batting first — 182/6, 148/6, 175/8 — ended up victorious.
The trend continued as Tuti struggled to get going. Tuti’s batsmen were off to a shocking start, losing half their line-up inside the powerplay. It was a dream day for Dindigul pacers, who took seven of their nine wickets. In no time, 27/5 became 54/7, and there was no coming back for Tuti after that. A 76-run stand between SP Nathan (38 n.o) and Ganesh Moorthi (35) for the eighth wicket delayed the inevitable.
However, it was a bad day at the office for Dindigul’s leading wicket-taker R Alexandar. After scalping eight wickets in two games at an economy rate of 2.75, the left-arm spinner went wicketless and conceded 44 runs in four overs. Earlier, Jagadeesan brought up his 12th fifty in TNPL — most in the tournament — with Ashwin also chipping in with an entertaining 52 off 28.
Having batted at No 3 in the last two games, the skipper decided to come at three-down. After scoring at run-a-ball in his first 12 deliveries, the off-spinner shifted gears after 13 overs to slam three sixes and four fours. Dindigul took 56 off the final five overs to post a strong total. “Our new-ball bowlers were on the money.
He’s (Nag) young and raw, but when he gets it right, he’s someone to watch out for. What we did after the last game was go out 25-30 km to practise against the wind. Wonderful to see it worked out for Rohit and Kaushik,” said Ashwin. Brief scores: Dindigul Dragons 173/7 in 20 ovs (Jagadeesan 53, Ashwin 52) bt Tuti Patriots 133/9 in 20 ovs (Nathan 38 n.o; Rohit 3/16). Kovai Kings 161/6 in 20 ovs (Pradosh 34, Dhas 32, Srinaath 36 n.o) bt Trichy Warriors 135 in 19 ovs.