TNPL 2026: CSK-man Gurjapneet leads Madurai to miracle

DINDIGUL: Unlikely batting heroes, P Sarvanan (26 off 13) and Gurjapneet Singh (21 off 9), turned Madurai Panthers’ Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) contest against Trichy Grand Cholas on its head here on Wednesday.

For the longest time, the game seemed heading towards the direction of an easy Trichy win but fate had a different say. Chennai Super Kings’ pacer, Gurjapneet, who is known for his long leavers, smacked 21 off nine, and formed an incredible 16-ball 42 run stand for the ninth wicket for a two-wicket win against Grand Cholas.

The Panthers were on the backfoot early on in the run chase, losing Mahavedan for a four-ball one. While Ram Kumar and NS Chaturved provided a brief period of comfort, quick dismissals meant that a lot of focus was on the team’s middle-order to shoulder the run chase.

However, Cholas’ all-rounder Rajkumar turned up the heat with the ball, removing both B Anirudh and Deepesh in the span of a few deliveries to shift the momentum towards the Cholas.

Earlier in the clash, the Cholas got off to a good start, courtesy of a 71-run opening stand between J Suresh Kumar (43 off 18) and Rajkumar (24 off 21). The middle-order did not have much of an impact, as J Kousik (11 off 13) and Shyam Sundar (11 off 15) couldn’t do much with the bat.

That’s when came the experienced Sanjay Yadav, who formed a crucial partnership with the hard-hitting Rajkumar to lift the Cholas’ fortunes. While Yadav scored 37 off 28, with three fours and two sixes, it was Rajkumar who did the heavy lifting, as the right-hander smashed a 19-ball 35, striking at 184.21, with three towering sixes – one nearly 100m.

It was enough to lift the Cholas from a struggling position at 104/5 in the 14th over to 173/7 at the end of its innings, a score that seemed beyond par for a large share of the run chase.

Brief Scores: Trichy Grand Cholas 173/7 in 20 overs (J Suresh Kumar 43, Sanjay Yadav 37, Rajkumar 35; Rajalingam 3/26) lost to Madurai Panthers 174/8 (Kiran Karthikeyan 38, Chaturved 27; Dhas 3/36) by two wickets