TNPL 2018: Trichy on course after beating Tuti

Set to make 158 for a win, Trichy reached the target with an over to spare losing three wickets. Opener Bharath Shankar (51) and captain B Indrajith (50 not out off 32 balls) were the architects of Trichy’s win.

Bharath Shankar and Mani Bharathi put on 65 runs for the first wicket in 8.2 overs as Trichy started its chase in right earnest. Then Mani Bharathy got out and then Bharath Shankar was bowled by Ganesh Moorthy for 51 (39 balls, 7x4, 1x6) as Tuti seemed to stage a fightback.

It picked up another wicket when Malolan Rangarajan snapped up Suresh Kumar for nought. However, Indrajith and C Ganapathy prevented further damage and guided Trichy home. 

Earlier, Tuti huffed and puffed to reach 157 for seven. Trichy decided to bowl and it seemed to work as Sonu Yadav sent back Kaushik Gandhi with his first ball, the seventh of the innings. Gandhi tried to steer a ball on the stumps to third man, missed it and played it on to the stumps. From five for one, Subramanian Anand and Dinesh repaired the innings with a stand of 50 for the second wicket.

Soon after the 50-run stand off 31 balls, Dinesh was run out in a mix-up with Anand, who played the ball and sent the non-striker back even as Kumaran on his follow-through picked the ball and effected the run out with a direct hit. Dinesh made 30 off 18 balls with three fours and a six. 

Tuti lost the momentum and lost another wicket at 59 when D Kumaran had Subramanian Anand caught by Mani Bharathi For 23. NIdhish Rajagopal and S Abhishek repaired the innings and brought up the 100 in the 13th over. In the 13th over, Nidhish Rajagopal went after Vignesh hitting him for 2 sixes.

Nidish Rajagopal was caught by Indrajith off the bowling of D Kumaran for 41 off 26 balls with three sixes and a four. Suresh Kumar dismissed S Abishiek for 30 as Tuti slumped to 134 for five.

BRIEF SCORES: Tuti Patriots 157/7 in 20 overs (Nidish Rajagopal 41, Dinesh 30, Sonu Yadav 2/25, D kumaran 2/28) lost to Trichy Warriors 159/3 in 19 overs (Bharath Shankar 51, B Indrajith 50 not out)