CHENNAI: Dindigul Dragons, led by R Ashwin, rallied around to beat Lyca Kovai Kings by six wickets and win the 2024 Tamil Nadu Premier League title at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Sunday.
First, their bowlers Sandeep Warrier, Varun Chakravarthy and P Vignesh bowled in tandem to pick two wickets each, restricting Kovai to 129/7. Ashwin, once again, led from the front with a polished 52 to help Dindigul bag the title in style.
This was Ashwin’s third consecutive half-century in the tournament. Set target of 130 for win, Dindigul too had an equally poor start as they lost openers Vimal Khumar and Shivam Singh in quick succession. But after that, Ashwin and B Indrajith added 65 runs for the third wicket that took Dindigul closer to the target.
Earlier, Kovai Kings got off to a poor start losing opener J Suresh Kumar cheaply. Ashwin tested B Sai Sudharsan by choosing to bowl a middle-and-off line. Sudharsan could not force the pace and continuously played it straight to the fielder. In the very next over, he pulled VP Dhiran for a huge six over the square leg. But Ashwin brought in Varun Chakravarthy and was suitably rewarded as two wickets fell in quick succession. Ashwin brought back Vignesh as he accounted for Sai Sudharsan. Kovai were reduced to 5/4 in 6.2 overs and after that they could not really recover.
Brief scores: Kovai Kings 129/7 in 20 ovs (Sandeep 2/26, Varun 2/26, Vignesh 2/15) lost to Dindigul Dragons 131/4in 18.2 ovs (Ashwin 52, Indrajith 32). PoTM: R Ashwin; PoTT: M Shahrukh Khan.