The curtains closed on the first leg of the eighth edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League with a photo finish at the picturesque Salem Cricket Foundation Ground as Nellai Royal Kings pipped SKM Salem Spartans by three wickets here on Thursday.
Pursuing a modest target of 142, Royal Kings threw caution to the wind and it almost came back to haunt them in the end. With wickets falling at one end, it took Impact Player L. Suryapprakash’s (43 n.o., 35b, 5x4) sensible batting to take the Nellai side across the line with seven balls to spare.
Despite losing a couple of wickets, G. Ajitesh (45, 36b, 6x4, 1x6) kept on playing his shots. However, Yazh Arun Mozhi (3 for 17) had Ajitesh caught behind and removed Nidhish Rajagopal. The off-spinner trapped Rithik Easwaran in front to throw the cat among the pigeons. However, Suryapprakash held his nerves and delivered the two points.
After being asked to bat, Spartans fell meekly in front of Sonu Yadav’s terrific five-wicket haul (5/30).
B. Emmanuel Cherian caught S. Abishiek off his own bowling before Sonu removed R. Kavin edging to the ’keeper. Sonu then clipped R. Vivek’s off-stump to peg back the home side.
Robin Bist, Vishal Vaidhya and P. Shijit Chandran, too, departed cheaply. The lower-order batters found some timely boundaries. However, Sonu & Co. finished what they started and dismissed the Salem outfit for 141 and set up the Nellai team’s victory.
The scores: SKM Salem Spartans 141 in 19.2 overs (Sonu Yadav 5/30, R. Silambarasan 2/32) lost to Nellai Royal Kings 144/7 in 18.5 overs (G. Ajitesh 45, L. Suryapprakash 43 n.o., S. Harish Kumar 2/24, Yazh Arun Mozhi 3/17); Toss: Royal Kings.
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