Published: Sep 01, 2016, 05:34 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 01, 2016, 10:06 PM (IST)
Good evening, folks! Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2016. So far it has been a spectacular event, with some talented cricketers showcasing their swashbuckling skills. In the ninth encounter, Dindigul Dragons (DDD) will lock horns with VB Thiruvallur Veerans (VTV) at Indian Cement Company Ground, Tirunelveli. All the same, India star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will lead DDD, who are placed at the top of the points table. DDD’s last match against Ruby Kanchi Warriors (RKV) was Ashwin’s first match of this season. TNPL 2016 Schedule & Fixture: Complete Time Table, Dates, Venue & Match Timings of Tamil Nadu Premier League
“Not sure, but must be midnight (when asked what time it is in Miami now). We had a very good team meeting before we came into this game. The plan worked really well. We had some good strikers. This is a unit that has been together for a while. The age group is pretty young, most of them are mid-20s. The catching is very important under lights. I am not trying to put any pressure on them and let them relax,” Ashwin said after the last contest.
Ashwin came three-down to bat and scored run-a-ball 15. With the ball, he was as stunning as he is at international level, as he picked up a wicket, conceding only 6 runs. However, what surprised everyone was that he bowled only 2 overs. Agreed that he is the captain and is allowed to any call he wants.
MS Dhoni was highly criticised when he did not complete Ashwin’s 4-over quota in the semi-final of ICC World T20 2016 against West Indies, citing dew issues. To add to the fire, Ashwin was seen bowl 2-3 overs at the start of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016. Yes, yet again under Dhoni’s leadership. Also read: Ravichandran Ashwin shares memory of watching Sachin Tendulkar live as a kid at Chepauk
Against RKV, Ashwin used as many as seven bowlers, himself bowling only 2 overs.
Meanwhile, N Jagdeesan scored a crisp 44 to set the foundation. “I am just happy that I got Man of the Match. I was not expecting this. Yeah, it was a really good game, the credit goes to the bowlers, they bowled really well. I am not really look into that a lot (on asked about expectations from him), I am just going to take it one game at a time,” said Jagdeesan.
On the other hand, Baba Aparajith has left VTV to play Duleep Trophy 2016. In his absence, Malolan Rangarajan will lead the side.
Both teams have won two matches each, sitting comfortably at the top of the table.
“Talking about the TN Premier League you have a fresh platform, yes you have other tournaments and everything that goes around and is part of the BCCI schedule, then it goes down to the state association and how they plan everything. But this is something that is relatively new and it gives the opportunity to a fresh set of youngsters, with eight teams there is a big number of players that are needed for the league to function properly. So it gives them that opportunity too, it allows them to play in quite a different scenario. Quite a few of them would not have played night matches so far so this is an opportunity for them to get a glimpse of that. Also read: TNPL 2016 Live Updates, Dindigul Dragons vs VB Thiruvallur Veerans
Not to forget this will take cricket into some of the smaller cities, you know we are quite used to playing here and there are some other places where you have grounds but some of the matches will also be played in some of the smaller cities where it will act as a promotional measure where you try to bring youngsters into cricket. I feel also what it does in the food chain is that it becomes a feeding ground for the local association which is the TNCA and also once CSK (Chennai Super Kings) gets back, it will be a feeding ground for CSK as well,” Dhoni told tnca.cricket before the tournament.
He further added: “The players who play well here since it’s being telecast by Star as well everyone will have a look at the players and I feel this is something that has changed since the start of the IPL (Indian Premier League). All the franchisees are on the constant look-out for players who can give that something special to their team and I feel this is where you can get it.
It will actually motivate a lot of youngsters to do well when it comes to cricket and perform under pressure because when it comes to franchisee cricket; you’re slightly under a different kind of pressure. So it actually helps them to get into a frame of mind where they can perform consistently under pressure and also the fact that they will be sharing the dressing room with a lot of India players if the schedule permits or players who have consistently played for the TNCA and who have been very successful for the state. So I feel it will be a very good exposure for the youngsters.”
Dindigul Dragons: Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Subramania Siva, Murugan Ashwin, Ganga Sridhar Raju, T Natarajan, Sunny Kumar Singh, Ashwin Venkataraman, N Jagadeesan (wk), Wilkins Victor, S Abishiek, Adithya Arun, S Dinesh, VRS Guru Kedarnath, D Prashanth Prabhu, MS Sanjay, S Shyam Sundar, M Silambarasan, R Vivek, ME Yazh Arun Mozhi, K Mukunth
VB Thiruvallur Veerans: NS Chaturved, Hari Nishanth, R Kavin (wk), U Mukilesh, Ramalingam Rohit, Samuel, Malolan Rangarajan (c), Santosh Shiv, Silambarasan, Vignesh, Abhishek Tanwar, Rahil Shah, Sanjay Yadav, Samruddh Bhat, Lakshmi Narayanan, Jaganath Sinivas, Govindaraj, S Arun
