Gillies vs Patriots

The cricket-crazy fans in the city were left with no quality cricketing action at Chepauk after an issue with the stands and when the home-team Chennai Super Kings were banned for two years from IPL. With the advent of the Tamil Nadu Premier League, the stadium now has a chance to reverberate with cheers. 

A historic Wednesday night would see Chepauk Super Gillies, the second highest bidder, lock horns with the top bidder Tuti Patriots in the first match of the TNPL. A keen contest beckons the fans as both the teams have enormous experience in terms of domestic cricket and international exposure. 

Chepauk Super Gillies, the only team that represents Chennai, appear to be a well-balanced team with an elaborate mix of youth and experience. The team has drafted 13 all-rounders in the side and the Super Gillies would not be short of players donning multiple roles during the course of the match — a trait that is emphasized more in the T20 format. 

Captain Rajagopal Sathish, the 35-year-old veteran, would be keen to put all his Indian Premier League strategic experience to use for Gillies. The team also has an able hand in former Indian middle-order all-rounder Hemang Badani, who can expertly guide the team in troubled waters with his tactical acumen. 

Thalaivan Sargunam and the young Shibi Jawahar would in all probability open the innings and Sargunam having a wealthy experience in the Tamil Nadu domestic league would be a vital cog in the Gillies’ line-up. 

With the likes of Tamil Kumaran, R Sai Kishore and Alexander R combined with Ashwath Mukunthan and J Joel Joseph in their bowling ranks, the Gillies have the required ammunition to thwart any batting attack’s plans. With no huge impact names in their squad, the Gillies might not be under pressure to perform and they would ease into their roles on the pitch easily. 

Tuti Patriots, on the contrary, have a star-studded line-up: Dinesh Karthik, L Balaji, Abhinav Mukund, Washington Sundar, Aushik Srinivas, Kaushik Gandhi and Aswin Crist have played for the state in the highest domestic level. 

Mrugang Desai is the team’s mentor while former Ranji player JR Madanagopal, who had shaped the fortunes of Vijay CC is the coach. DJ Gokulakrishnan, former Tamil Nadu all-rounder, is their bowling coach. The duo’s rich experience is sure to work wonders for the team. With the senior cricketers in the team having played in the same team at the state-level, the core-group wouldn’t be short of match practice and experience at this level. Balaji was pleased with his team’s bowling resources. “I’ve played with the boys in the state side, and we’re on the same wavelength. We have an excellent attack, but T20 is a different ball-game. If we bowl to potential, we can give vital breakthroughs,” Balaji had said. 

The team would miss former India opener Abhinav Mukund who is away on Duleep Trophy duty.

CHEPAUK SUPER GILLIES: R Sathish, Yo Mahesh, Thalaivan Sargunam, Anthony Dhas, Gopinath, Sai Kishore, Sasidev, Joel Joseph, Tamil Kumaran, Alaxander R, Vasanth Saravanan S, Rahul B, Ashwath Mukunthan, Karthik S, Rajeel Abdul Rahman, Vasudevan, Aditya Barooah, Shibi Jawahar.

TUTI PATRIOTS: Dinesh Karthik, L Balaji, Washington Sunder, Aswin Crist, Abhinav Mukund, Aushik Srinivas, Kaushik Gandhi, Anand Subramanian, Akash Sumra, Sathyanarayan R, Sushil U, Ganesh Moorthi M, Athisayaraj Davidson, Maaruthi Raghav, Vishaal R, Siddarth S Ahuja, Lakshman V, Nathan SP, Nicul Anand.