TNPL 2026: Debutant Nirankar's three-for destroys defending champions Tiruppur

DINDIGUL: Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) newbie Nirankar Sharma showed his prowess with the ball, with figures of 3/21 destroying defending champions iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans in the opening fixture here on Tuesday.

While Shivam Singh (10) and RK Jayant (7) couldn’t really do much with the bat, Anuraag Rajesh was the anchor in the run chase, scoring 34 while Vimal Khumar scored 33 in a slow burning run chase on a two-paced wicket.

Earlier, batting first, the Tamizhans got themselves off to the best start possible, as its magical opening pair, Tushar Raheja and Amith Sathvik started aggressively. However, just when Sathvik was looking to extend his scoring form, he holed out, with the score reading 21/1 after one over.

Raheja fell soon after, as the experienced campaigner Warrier picked up the wicket. Tamizhans’ middle-order failed to arrive at the party, as Sai Kishore (4 off 3), Pradosh Ranjan Paul (7 off 5) could not capitalise on their starts. Briefly though, the partnership between Mohamed Ali and U Sasidev looked like it would resurrect Tamizhans’ campaign.

However, that was just a hoax, as the rest of the batting unit crumbled, leaving a lot for No.8 and No.9 batters – Mohan Prasath and Esakkimuthu – who combined to score 32, as the defending champions were shot out for 107. On the bowling front, it was a dream spell for the leggie on debut, as he picked up figures of 3/21, weaving a web around the Tamizhans' batting unit. 

Brief Scores: IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans 107 all-out (Sathvik 20, Mohan Prasath 17; Nirankar 3/21, Bhuvaneswaran 3/32) lost to  Dindigul Dragons 111/3 in 18.3 overs (Anuraag 34, Vimal 33; Kishore 1/19) by seven wickets