NRK edges out CSG via ‘Super Over’ in TNPL 6 opening match

CHENNAI: Sanjay Yadav was the star of the opening night as Nellai Royal Kings edged out Chepauk Super Gillies via a ‘Super Over’ in the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2022’s first match at the ICL Sankar Nagar Ground in Tirunelveli.

After restricting Chepauk to 9/1 in the ‘Super Over’, Nellai got the job done with a ball to spare. Sanjay, who was the standout performer in the regular match, struck seven runs of his first three balls against pacer Sandeep Warrier to take NRK closer to the finish line.

In the regular contest on Thursday, Sanjay delivered an all-round performance to steal the show. He first struck an unbeaten 87 off just 47 deliveries, an innings which was studded with five fours and six maximums. The southpaw was particularly severe on the CSG spin-bowling trio as he smacked five of his sixes against it.

The 27-year-old Sanjay, who walked out to bat in the sixth over, stitched an invaluable 133-run partnership with opener L Suryapprakash (62 off 50 balls, 8 fours), the highest for the fourth wicket in the League’s history.

While Sanjay was the aggressor of the duo in the stand, Suryapprakash played second fiddle to perfection. Prior to the century stand, NRK had been reeling at 27 for three after losing Pradosh Ranjan Paul (7), Baba Aparajith (2) and Baba Indrajith (3) cheaply in the powerplay. Chepauk pacer Harish Kumar (1/30) completed a milestone – 50 wickets in the TNPL – when he sent Suryapprakash back to the pavilion in the 18th over.

In the second essay, left-arm spinner Sanjay accounted for S Radhakrishnan (1) and his brother Sonu Yadav (34 off 23 balls, 3 sixes) during his spell of 4-0-27-2. Kaushik Gandhi (64 off 43 balls, 7 fours, 2 sixes) played a captain’s knock for Chepauk while Harish (26 not out off 12 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) came up with a cameo. Harish smashed Athisayaraj Davidson for 14 runs in the final over to take the match to a ‘Super Over’.

BRIEF SCORES: Nellai Royal Kings 184/4 in 20 overs (Sanjay Yadav 87*, L Suryapprakash 62) tied with Chepauk Super Gillies 184/7 in 20 overs (Kaushik Gandhi 64); Chepauk 9/1 in 1 over lost to Nellai 10/1 in 5 balls in ‘Super Over’