Vimal, Shivam hit half-centuries in seven-wicket victory over Kings
The spin trio of M Mathivanan (2/25 off 3 overs), Varun Chakravarthy (1/15 off 4 overs) and Aushik Srinivas (0/28 off 4 overs) dominated the Royal Kings batters while pacer Suboth Bhati (2/32 off 4 overs) chipped in with two wickets
CHENNAI: Dindigul Dragons openers Vimal Khumar and Shivam Singh struck half-centuries as their team recorded a seven-wicket win over Nellai Royal Kings in the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2023 match at the India Cements Company Ground in Tiruvelveli on Saturday.
Opting to bowl first after stand-in skipper Baba Indrajith won the toss, Dragons restricted Royal Kings to 159 for seven, thanks to a superb allround performance. In the second essay, Vimal (62 off 53 balls, 3 fours, 4 sixes) and Shivam (51 off 39 balls, 7 fours) provided DD the perfect start as it reached home with three balls to spare.
Dindigul (10 points from 6 matches) moved to second on the table while Nellai (8 points from 6 matches) dropped to third. Both teams had sealed their play-off qualification even before the start of the match, courtesy of Salem Spartans’ victory over iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans in the opening contest of the Tirunelveli leg.
In the chase, Vimal and Shivam put Dragons on top with a 117-run alliance for the first wicket. While Vimal completed his half-century with a maximum off Lakshay Jain, Shivam reached the milestone with a four off Mohan Prasath. Speaking after the end of the match, Shivam said: “Vimal batted brilliantly and the (our) partnership changed the course of the match.” Adithya Ganesh (13 not out) and Indrajith (8 not out) were in the middle when DD crossed the finish line in the final over. Earlier, skipper KB Arun Karthick (39 off 33 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) and NS Harish (34 not out off 21 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) were the only two Nellai batters to breach the 30-run mark.
The spin trio of M Mathivanan (2/25 off 3 overs), Varun Chakravarthy (1/15 off 4 overs) and Aushik Srinivas (0/28 off 4 overs) dominated the Royal Kings batters while pacer Suboth Bhati (2/32 off 4 overs) chipped in with two wickets.
BRIEF SCORES: Nellai Royal Kings 159/7 in 20 overs (KB Arun Karthick 39, NS Harish 34*, M Mathivanan 2/25, Suboth Bhati 2/32) lost to Dindigul Dragons 160/3 in 19.3 overs (Vimal Khumar 62, Shivam Singh 51)
