TNPL 2023: Madurai posts big win; Trichy eliminated

CHENNAI: Siechem Madurai Panthers recorded its third successive victory in the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2023 as it defeated the winless Ba11sy Trichy by seven wickets at the Salem Cricket Foundation Ground in Salem on Thursday.

Invited to field first, Madurai bundled Trichy out for a mere 105, thanks to a brilliant all-round performance from the bowling unit. In the chase, Panthers knocked off the runs with three overs to spare, boosting its net run-rate. Madurai is now fourth on the table with six points from five matches while Trichy became the first team to be eliminated following its fifth successive defeat.

Trichy’s decision to bat first backfired as it lost both the openers – skipper Ganga Sridhar Raju (0) and T Saran (5) – cheaply and within the second over. Mani Bharathi (48 off 40 balls, 2 fours, 3 sixes) and Daryl S Ferrario (21) shared a 42-run alliance for the fourth wicket, after which the Trichy batters went down like a pack of cards.

BT lost as many as seven wickets for just 25 runs – it went from 80 for three in the 15th over to 105 all-out in the 19th. Left-arm spinner P Saravanan (3/23 off 4 overs) bagged a three-wicket haul while left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh (2/13) and right-arm fast bowler Ajay Krishna (2/6) contributed two wickets each.

Madurai began slowly but never allowed Trichy to run through its batting line-up. Although it lost three wickets by the 13th over, Panthers was always in control of the contest. S Lokeshwar struck a patient 32 while Swapnil Singh (25 not out off 19 balls, 1 four, 2 sixes) and Washington Sundar (18 not out off 15 balls, 1 four, 1 six) finished the job. On Wednesday, Dindigul Dragons had defeated iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans by eight wickets.

BRIEF SCORES: Ba11sy Trichy 105 in 18.5 overs (Mani Bharathi 48, P Saravanan 3/23) lost to Siechem Madurai Panthers 108/3 in 17 overs (S Lokeshwar 32)