Published: Sep 05, 2016, 12:41 AM (IST)
Edited: Sep 05, 2016, 12:41 AM (IST)
In a thrilling night of Twenty20 (T20) cricket, the most exciting concept of Super Over once again came into play, as Dindigul Dragons beat TUTI Patriots by six runs in the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2016, in Match 13 at the Indian Cement Company Ground in Tirunelveli on Sunday. The Patriots, winning toss and batting first put up a below par total of 120 for the loss of nine wicket. However, the Patriots came up with a decent performance with the ball, as they too managed to restrict the Dragons to the same total, while in the Super over, it was 12 runs for Dragons, while the Patriots managed to score just five runs, thus leading to the Dragons’ third win of the tournament. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: Dindigul Dragons vs TUTI Patriots, TNPL 2016, Match 13 at Tirunelveli
According to the TNPL press release, Dragons have now won all their four matches. It may be noted that this was the second low-scoring game in as many days at the same ground which incidentally also played host to high-scoring game in the first two days. Patriots, who won the toss and elected to bat on a slow wicket, replaced R Vishaal for the veteran Lakshmipathy Balaji.
Kaushik Gandhi (35) showed signs of aggression when he hit two consecutive boundaries of MS Sanjay’s over after which the Patriots started to accelerate. Gandhi’s brief stay at the crease came to an end as he lost his wicket to Sanjay (3 for 18) with N Jagadeesan taking a tricky catch behind the wicket off an attempted cut. Jagadessan later effected a stumping off Wilkins Victor (1 for 13) which sent back danger-man Washington Sundar (3).
After skipper Abhinav Mukund’s (24) dismissal, Patriots lost the plot as the middle-order failed to click. Sanjay’s clever left-arm spin choked Patriots and stemmed the run-flow. Even M Ashwin (2 for 19) and Sunny Kumar Singh (2 for 24) were exceptional as Patriots lost six wickets for 37 runs. The lower-order contributed with single digit scores as Patriots ended on 120 for 9.
Aushik Srinivas (2 for 21) and Ganesh Moorthi (0 for 17) struck early as Patriots lost the in-form Jagadeesan (8) in the very first over. Patriots’ slower bowlers were successful in restricting the run-flow and chipped in with regular wickets at crucial intervals. But M Ashwin (61*) played a thoughtful innings as he stood between Patriots and victory. After stitching a 29-run partnership with M Ashwin, Victor (7) was trapped in front by Aushik (2 for 21).
Aswin Crist (1 for 22) came back strongly in the 19th over as he dismissed R Vivek (7) with Sunny Singh (1) being run-out in the very next delivery. But in an interesting twist to the game, Ashwin hit a six off the last delivery of Crist’s over which brought down the equation to six runs in six deliveries. Moorthi (0 for 17) did well to give away only five runs in the last over which ensured that the game went into the Super Over.
Following the match, Patriots’ R Vishaal said, “We could have won, but then it became difficult. Of course, there are still three more games to play and we will try our level best. In fact, the team has improved by leaps and bounds since the first three games. We aim to do it step by step and will try our level best to win our remaining matches. We made lots of mistakes in this match. A dropped catch and lots of misfields proved to be costly. We have to rectify our mistakes and improve as a unit. The whole team wants to improve and win the last three games.”
As for Dragons’, Murugan Ashwin said, “We are happy because we have played as a unit. We have done well in all three departments – batting, bowling and fielding. In the first three games, the openers played well and in this game the middle order also contributed. We can’t single out one person for the win. They started well and we were able to bounce back. Even when our openers got out, the middle-order contributed. Also, when R Vivek and Ganga Sridhar Raju hit 12 runs in the super-over, the pressure was on them. T Natarajan’s good form enabled us to place faith in him during the super-over.”
“We knew the nature of wicket when we bowled and we also wanted to score big in the first six overs. Since we couldn’t do that, we thought of taking it till the 20th over. When I settled down I knew who bowled and when. So I played on the back foot and also took a lot of chances. When Vivek came in and hit a six the pressure was on them. All teams are good and the spinners have also been phenomenal. The wicket assisted spinners and it was tough [for batsmen]. That is why we took it till the last over,” he added.
“We decided that the first six overs were crucial and we had to hit runs as the ball will not turn much. My role was to get a good start in the first few overs. When the wicket became difficult to bat on, I decided to take the match till the last over. I usually bowl a lot and batting is something that comes pretty naturally to me. I have been scoring big in the first-division tournament in Chennai and have also scored a 50 in the Buchi Babu tournament. That gave me a lot of confidence to do well in the match. I also wanted to make full use of the opportunity to play out 18 overs in a T20 game,” he concluded.
Brief Scores
TUTI Patriots 120 for 9 in 20 overs (Kaushik Gandhi 35, Abhinav Mukund 24; MS Sanjay 3 for 18, M Ashwin 2 for 19) lost to Dindigul Dragons 120 for 7 in 20 overs (M Ashwin 61, Aushik Srinivas 2 for 21, R Vishaal 1 for 15) in the super-over by six runs.
