Ashwin wreaked havoc! TNPL 2025 Eliminator: R Ashwin’s explosive 83-run knock and 3 wickets help Dindigul Dragons reach Qualifier 2

Captain Ravichandran Ashwin's all-round performance helped Dindigul Dragons beat Trichy Grand Cholas by six wickets in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2025 Eliminator. First, Ashwin's three-wickets and Varun Chakravarthy's double strikes in 10th over helped Dragons restrict Grand Cholas' score to 140/9. Then Ashwin's explosive 83-run knock helped Dragons chase down the total with six wickets in hand and 20 balls to spare.

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Ashwin, Chakravarthy tie down Grand Cholas

Ashwin won the toss and opted to bowl first. Grand Cholas got off to a slow start as Waseem Ahmed struggled to rotate strike or find boundaries. In the sixth over, Sasidharan R dismissed Suresh Kumar for a 17-ball 23. Grand Cholas continued to struggle. Chakravarthy capitalised as he struck twice in the 10th over to dismiss J Kousik and Sanjay Yadav. Ashwin joined the party by dismissing R Rajkumar for a four-ball duck. Opener Waseem could not accelerate and got run out in the 14th over for a 41-ball 36.

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Jafar Jamal pushed the scoring rate. He hit four sixes in his 20-ball 33 to help Dragons post a respectable total. Ashwin struck twice in the penultimate over to end Jamal's cameo and get rid of N Selva Kumaran for a two-ball duck. G Persiwamy got two wickets in the slog overs and helped Grand Cholas for 140/9.

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Opener Ashwin wreaks havoc with bat

Ashwin got the run chase off to a blazing start, hitting V Athisayaraj Davidson for three fours in the first four balls. In the fifth over, Shivam Singh fell to Saravana Kumar for a 11-ball 16. Dragons were 58/1 after powerplay overs. In the 10th over, Ashwin reached his fifty from 31 balls. Selva Kumaran took a beating in the 14th over, Ashwin hit him for a six and two fours. Then, Baba Indrajith hit a six.

Davidson got the prized wicket of Ashwin but it was only a consolation. His 48-ball 83 as studded with 11 fours and three sixes. In the 16th over, K Easwaran got the wickets of Vimal Khumar and Dinesh H. Hunny Saini hit the winning runs in the 17th over of the innings. Indrajith remained unbeaten for 27 off 29 balls.