Ravichandran Ashwin-led Dindigul Dragons continued their winning run in Tami Nadu Premier League (TNPL) with a thrilling one-run win over Chepauk Super Gillies at NPR College Ground, Dindigul on June 21. Despite a batting collapse, lower order came to Dragons' rescue and then Varun Chakaravarthy worked his magic in a closely fought contest.
Chakaravarthy makes an impact
In the run chase, Super Gillies lost two early wickets for 15 runs in first three overs. N Jagadeesan and Aprajith got the run chase back on track. Aparajith got a couple of chances as his catch was dropped twice. In the sixth over, Aprajith hit a couple of sixes to take Super Gillies score to 51/2. Ashwin took a beating in his second over as he conceded 14 runs. In the 12th over, Chakarvarthy got the breakthrough. Jagadeesan got out leg before wicket. He scored 37 runs from 36 deliveries including four fours and one six.
Aparajith scores big
In his next over, Chakarvarthy got another wicket in the form of Sanjay Yadav. Meanwhile, Aparajith got to his half-century from 30 deliveries. In the 17th over, Harish Kumar got dismissed as Super Gillies lost half their side. In the last three overs, 41 runs were needed to win. Aparajith took on Chakaravarthy and hit him for two consecutive sixes. But the spinner had the last laugh as Aparajith's catch was taken at long-off. Aparajith scored 74 runs from 40 balls including two fours and seven sixes.
Last over drama
Despite the big wicket, the run chase was kept alive till the final ball. In the final over, 12 runs were needed. Ramalingam Rohit and Lokesh Raj hit one boundary each but the former got out. Three runs were needed off the last two balls. Two consecutive run outs led to Super Gillies winning the clash by one run.
After a thrilling win, Ashwin lauded his side in the post-match presentation as he said, “It was a good game. I'll give a big award to my team for defending on this pitch because it was difficult... I feel the best thing to do is know what is the best ball a particular bowler can bowl and give him confidence in that, that's what I tried to do with Saravana Kumar. I knew what he was going to bowl, so I changed the field kept third man fine, thankfully it worked for us.
On being asked about an update on Chakaravarthy’s shoulder injury he said, “His shoulder often gives him trouble but he should be fine. Nothing to worry.”
Damage control after collapse
Earlier, Jagadeesan won the toss and opted to field first. Dragons got off to a flyer as Rahul two fours and a six in first over. Then, Dragons suffered a batting collapse. From 34/0 in third over they were reduced to 63/5 in 10 overs. Ashwin came in to bat at no.5 but could score only a single from six balls. Contributions from Adithya Ganesh (44), C Sarath Kumar (25) and Subodh Bhati's 13-ball 31 cameo helped them post 170/9 on a batting track.
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