Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and India star opener Murali Vijay wreaked havoc with his stunning ton but unfortunately couldn't save Trichy Warriors from going down to Nellai Royal Kings by 66 runs in the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League-6 in Coimbatore on Friday.
Vijay took Royal Kings' bowling attack to cleaners as he clobbered 121 off 66 balls which was fuelled with 12 maximums and seven boundaries while chasing a colossal target of 237.
Batting first, Sanjay Yadav struck a brilliant unbeaten 103, loaded with nine sixes and six fours, which was well complemented by Under-19 World Cup sensation Baba Aparajith's impressive 92 to help Royal Kings muster a huge target and then fold the Warriors innings to a paltry 170-7 to script their sixth victory in the tournament.
In pursuit of a stiff total, Vijay was dropped on 0 but that didn’t stop him from going for his shots. Trichy crossed the 50-run mark in 3.3 overs with Vijay contributing 33. The stylish former India opener raised his half-century off just 18 deliveries. Ajitesh, stationed at mid-wicket region, dropped Vijay when the batsman was on 55. Vijay’s innings was full of strokes all-round the ground as Trichy reached 103-3 at the halfway mark. Vijay, despite very little support from the other end, soldiered on and was dismissed in the last ball of the chase. For Nellai, medium-pacer K Easwaran (2-42) and off-spinner Aparajith (2-38) shone with the ball.
The first half of play was owned by Aparajith and Sanjay. The two got together in 4th over after Nellai lost their openers Sri Neranjan (5) and L Suryapprakash (18) with 29 on board. The duo, who have been the in-form players for Nellai this season, once again showed their mettle with the willow. They were spot on with their running between the wickets and shot selection. The two raised the team 100 in 12.2 overs.
From thereon, it was carnage as the Aparajith-Sanjay pair smashed 136 runs in the last 7.4 overs. Sanjay was the aggressor of the two and the pair’s 207-run unfinished stand was the highest ever partnership in the tournament. “Sanjay has been batting beautifully in the tournament. At one point we were targeting a total of 150-160. But once Sanjay started to play his shots, there was no stopping,” Aparajith said after the innings.
The Trichy frontline bowlers went for runs with P Saravana Kumar (1/42 from 4 overs) and Rahil S Shah (1/13 from 1 over) managing to pick up the openers.
