CHENNAI: Three-for from mystery spinner B Surya and a half-century from B Sai Sudharsan helped Lyca Kovai Kings register their first win of the season as they beat Salem Spartans by eight wickets in the first match of the double header in Dindigul on Wednesday.
Chasing a modest total of 147, Kovai lost Ganga Sridhar Raju early, but Suresh Kumar J and Sai Sudharsan kept them in the chase with a 111-run partnership for the second wicket. While the former made 64 runs from 43 balls before getting out to M Ashwin, Sai Sudharsan remained unbeaten till the end and saw through the chase. The southpaw scored 56 runs from 43 balls as Kovai chased down the target in 16.3 overs.
Earlier, having been put into bat the Salem Spartans were off to a shaky start as Vignesh K sent Jafar Jamal and Kavin R back to the pavilion in the second over. However, Gopinath KH smashed an 18-ball 41 before falling to Ajith Ram S. From there on, Spartans slumped to 68/5. Skipper Ashwin and Pranav Kumar played the rescue act, taking them to a respectable total. Mystery spinner Surya was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets for just 14 runs.
In the other game, Chepauk Super Gillies scored 203/8 in 20 overs against Ruby Trichy Warriors, with Radhakrishnan top-scoring for them. The No 3 batter hit 81 runs from 49 balls while Uthirasamy Sasidev hit a 35-ball 65 to take Super Gillies past the 200-run mark. In reply, Trichy Warriors could manage only 159/6 in 20 overs.
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Brief scores: Salem Spartans 146/9 in 20 ovs (Gopinath 41; Surya 3/14) lost to Lyca Kovai Kings 149/2 in 16.3 ovs (Suresh Kumar 64, Sai Sudharsan 56 n.o); Chepauk Super Gillies 203/8 in 20 ovs (Radhakrishnan 81, Saisdev 65; Ajay Krishna 3/33) bt Ruby Trichy Warriors 159/6 in 20 ovs (Santosh 59; Harish Kumar 3/25).