CHENNAI: The top-order batters of Vida Kovai Kings clicked as a unit as they beat Chepauk Super Gillies by five wickets in a TNPL tie at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.
S Radhakrishnan (38), S Lokeshwar (40) and B Sachin (37) played with responsibility and helped their team chase down the target of 168.
Openers Radhakrishnan and Lokeshwar went hammer and tongs on the Chepauk attack.Radhakrishnan was fluent, timed the ball brilliantly and was spot on in his shot selection.
He could place the ball where he wished and was in absolute control of the proceedings. Radhakrishnan's (38) end came when he was caught at long on by Dinesh Raj with Prem Kumar taking the wicket. By then, the duo had added 54 runs for the first wicket to give a solid start.
Thereafter Lokeshwar and B Sachin combined to help Kovai get past the 100-run mark. Sachin (37) was run out, while Lokeshwar (40) was castled by Swapnil Singh.
At 127/4, skipper Shahrukh Khan and RS Ambrish guided the team home.
Earlier, Ambrish (3/22) contributed with the ball to restrict Chepauk to an attainable score. Put in to bat, Chepauk openers Mokit Hariharan and N Jagadeesan showed intent. Mokit was at ease playing R Divakar. However, M Siddharth gave the first breakthrough for Kovai. He bowled a shorter one to Jagadeesan who miscued a lofted attempt as the ball went straight to Siddharth.
This created a ripple effect as Chepauk lost two wickets in quick succession.
K Ashiq was run out off his own call when he failed to outsmart a direct throw from G Kishoor at mid off,
A lot depended upon Mokit who has a century to his credit in the Dindigul leg of the tournament to do the rescue act. But that was not to be. A sudden rush of blood saw him play across the line to a quicker one from Divakar and the skier was picked by Siddharth at backward point. Thus Chepauk was reduced to 21 for 3 in 3 overs.
From then on Ram Aravindh and Swapnil played cautiously, choosing the right ball to attack. Ram was aggressive, as his square cut off G Kishoor where the ball raced to the point fence.
Ram used his feet well both against Kovai medium-pacers and spinners. While on 49, a single off Prashid Akash got him his 50. When set for a long innings, Ram was castled by Siddharth, deceived by the turn.
After that, wickets fell at regular intervals and S Dinesh Raj's 32 came in handy for Chepauk to post a modest score.
Brief scores: Chepauk Super Gillies 167 in 19.3 ovs (Ram Aravindh 63; RA Ambarish 3/22) lost to Vida Kovai Kings 168/5 in 18.5 ovs (Lokeshwar 40).
