CHENNAI: As the TNPL league phase is heading towards an end, each and every game is important. Teams vie for points to remain in contention for a berth in the last four. Madurai Panthers with four wins in five games were third in the points table. A win on Wednesday would have guaranteed them a spot in the playoffs, but that was not to be. iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans bowlers were penetrative, guiding their team to a 53-run victory over Madurai at Salem.
Thus, Tiruppur Tamizhans, without their star player Dinesh Karthik, managed to post a creditable win. Tiruppur ought to win their next encounter to get to eight points. Chasing 130 for the win, Madurai had a disastrous start as they lost openers Vinesh Iyer and B Anirudh. Both their batters failed to open their account and this sent some shock waves in the dugout. Tiruppur new ball bowlers M Mohammed and Aswin Crist bowled with a lot of fire and zest. Soon Arun Karthik too fell as Madurai were reduced to 30/4. And from thereon, they could not recover.
Earlier, put in to bat Tiruppur had a poor start losing their captain Anirudha Srikkanth cheaply. They were reeling at 26/2 and a lot depended upon Francis Rokins and Mann Bafna. But once again Francis was disappointed as he fell to P Saravanan. Thereafter, wickets fell at regular intervals as they managed 129/7.
Brief scores: Tiruppur 129/7 in 20 overs (Bafna 40 n.o, Kiran 3/18) bt Madurai 76 in 17.2 overs (Aswin Crist 3/13).