CHENNAI: An all-round display by B Aparajith (2-23; 38) was instrumental for Nellai Royal Kings to beat Salem Spartans by eight wickets in the TNPL 5 at Chepauk here on Thursday night.
Aparajith gave a good start and posted crucial partnerships with L Suryaprakash and Pradosh Ranjan Paul.
After Aparajith fell to a brilliant catch by Vijay Shankar in the deep off M Ganesh Moorthi, Pradosh and Sanjay Yadav finished the job. Salem Spartans suffered a blow before the game when their captain Daryl Ferrario was ruled out due to a twisted ankle. KH Gopinath stepped in his place.
Salem lost two early wickets but a good partnership worth 64 runs off 51 balls for the third wicket between Vijay Shankar (41) and Abishiek (25) put them back on track. But once the duo departed the rest of Spartans batting line-up failed to click.
Brief scores: Salem Spartans 120/8 in 20 ovs (Vijay Shankar 41, S Abishek 25) lost to Nellai Royal Kings 121/2 in 18.3 ovs (B Aparajith 38, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 23 n.o., Sanjay Yadav 41 n.o.).