CHENNAI: P Bhuvaneswaran (3/32) and Nirankar Sharma (3/21) picked up three wickets apiece to help Dindigul Dragons overcome Tiruppur Tamizhans by seven wickets in the opening match of the TNPL in Dindigul on Tuesday evening. Set a target of 108 for a win, Dindigul achieved the same without much fuss. Anuraag Rajesh made 34, while Vimal Khumar was unbeaten on 33.
Tiruppur bowlers tried their best but could not succeed.
Put in to bat, the Tiruppur Tamizhans did not convert their starts into strong partnerships. Amit Sathvik and Tushar Raheja got runs in the beginning but were sent back early.
From then on, a lot depended on skipper R Sai Kishore — who promoted himself to No 3 — and Pradosh Ranjan Paul. But the duo failed to rise to the occasion and fell due to poor shot selection and timing. Tiruppur were reduced to 42 for 4 in 4.1 overs.
After that it was a massive toil for Tiruppur as their batters lacked the patience and footwork to play spinner Nirankar.
Nirankar was accurate and bowled stump to stump and the manner in which he castled Ganesh with a peach of a delivery that beat the batter and the inside edge, carrying on to the stumps.
In reply, Dindigul lost wickets in quick succession in the fourth and fifth over but Anuraag and Vimal steadied the ship. Dindigul eventually reached the target in the 19th over with seven wickets to spare.
Brief scores: Tiruppar Tamizhans 107 in 15.4 ovs (Sathvik 20, Sasidev 17, Prasath 17 n.o; Bhuvaneswaran 3/32, Nirankar 3/21) lost to Dindigul Dragons 111/3 in 18.3 ovs (Anuraag 34, Vimal 33 n.o).
