TNPL 2021: Nellai stands tall with a six-hitting finish

Unlike the CSG, the Nellai side had a steady start with a decent run-rate. Since the boundaries came regularly the required run-rate climbing to 11/12 didn't bother the Nellai Royal Kings.

Baba Aparajith and Pradosh Ranjan Paul's half-centuries never let the momentum shift towards Chepauk. Sanjay Yadav aiding Pradosh with a useful 25 off 14 with two fours and sixes made sure Nellai was on course to chasing down the target.

Needing six of three balls, Baba Indrajith hammered the ball over the fence to fetch Nellai Royal Kings its first winning points.

Opting to bat, CSG's skipper Kaushik Gandhi, S Sujay and Rajagopal Sathish failed to create any impact. Narayan Jagadeesan took a lot of time to settle and his run-a-ball half century did not help with the run-rate that was dawdling around 6. However, after 15 overs his game gathered pace and he started smacking the ball out of the park. Five shy of a century Jagadeesan's stumps were dislodged by Sharun Kumar.

Uthirasamy Sasidev made a helpful 14-ball 20 before getting dismissed by Harish. RS Jaganath Srinivas' handy cameo of 9-ball 19 courtesy of three boundaries had given the CSG bowlers a lot to bowl for.

The CSG bowlers did bowl tight to bring the match down the wire but in the end of the day 165 proved to not be enough.

Scores in brief: CSG 165/7 (20 overs) Narayan Jagadeesan - 95 (70)

Athisayaraj Davidson - 31/2 (4 overs)

NRK 167/3 (19.4 overs)

Pradosh Ranjan Paul - 62 (52)

Rajagopal Sathish - 24/0 (4 overs)