Hemalatha knock in vain as TN loses to Chhattisgarh

Set to chase 101, TN fell agonisingly short as it was restricted to 97 for eight. Tamil Nadu was off to a good start through its openers Niranjana Nagarajan and D Hemalatha who pierced the gap with ease scoring boundaries at will in the powerplay. But once captain Niranjana was run out for nine with the score on 33, the home team struggled to keep up with the required run rate. 

Opener Hemalatha fought a spirited battle emerging the highest scorer with a gutsy knock of 46 off 53 balls that consisted of four boundaries. TN might rue its poor running between the wickets as that cost it four wickets, including the prized scalp of the captain. 

There might have been four run-outs but by no means was Chhattisgarh’s fielding exemplary as it was guilty of spilling three of the easiest catches one could see. Those run-outs apart, the ground fielding was shoddy with it giving away runs through overthrows. 

With not a big score to defend, the visiting team’s bowlers, particularly the spinners, rose to the occasion by not giving the batsmen any room to go for big shots. The TN batsmen, apart from the impressive Hemalatha, struggled to rotate the strike and even the boundaries dried up. The tension mounted towards the end as Tamil Nadu needed 18 runs from two overs. 

The host lost two wickets in the final over and required a boundary off the last ball which proved a tall order for the tail. Earlier, TN’s left-arm spinner KN Ramyashri continued her stellar showing to finish with two wickets for eight runs. She played a key role in TN’s win over Punjab on Sunday, taking two for seven.