Ashwin, Ajay help Madurai beat Super Gillies
The experienced spinner began the bowling attack for Super Gillies and dismissed two wickets early in the innings
Washington Sundar scored 56 runs off 30 balls. (Twitter/@TNPL)
SALEM: Siechem Madurai Panthers bowlers rose to the occasion stifling Chepauk Super Gillies batters to notch up a 12-run win in the TNPL here on Monday. This is Madurai’s second win in four matches, while Super Gillies has recorded two wins from six matches.
Set to chase 142, Super Gillies got off to a confident start with openers N Jagadeesan 35 (29b, 2x4, 1x6) and S Santosh Shiv 28 (32b, 2x4) putting on 59 runs in 9 overs. But from thereon things went on a downhill for the most succesful franchise in the league as it lost wickets at regular intervals in the face of disciplined bowling. Madurai bowlers led by wily leg-spinner M Ashwin (3/25) and Ajay Krishna (4/18) applied the brakes on the Super Gillies’ run-rate. Captain B Aparajith waged a spirited battle until the end scoring 33 (29b, 1x4, 1x6), but it wasn’t enough to get his team over the line.
Earlier, Super Gillies opted to bowl first after winning the toss. The team had a good start with the ball, thanks to Aparajith. The experienced spinner began the bowling attack for Super Gillies and dismissed two wickets early in the innings; one of them was Panthers’ captain Hari Nishaanth.
Rohit helped to control the flow as well. He went for nine runs and grabbed the wicket of J Kousik in the powerplay. Rahil S Shah and M Silambarasan joined the party as well. Rahil S Shah dismissed S Lokeshwar, while Swapnil Singh and Deeban Lingesh fell to M Silambarasan.
As a result, the Madurai Panthers found itself at 79/7 after 14 overs. Washington Sundar, who came in the middle order, took the responsibility to take the team past 100 in the 18th over. The all-rounder’s batting position in the team has been a topic of debate for a while now. He performed big once again when he had an opportunity. The all-rounder ended the innings with 56* (30). He smashed two sixes, in the end, to get past his half-century.
P Saravanan joined Washington Sundar to add a few useful runs for the team. Saravanan scored 22 out of 17. The duo added 62 (35) runs for the 8th wicket to take the team to 141 runs after 20 overs.
BRIEF SCORES: Siechem Madurai Panthers 141/7 in 20 overs (W Sundar 56) bt Chepauk Super Gillies 129/9 in 20 overs (Ajay Krishna 4/18, M Ashwin 3/25)