TNPL 2019: Second title for Super Gillies

Chepauk Super Gillies clinched its second Tamil Nadu Premier League title by edging Dindigul Dragons in the 2019 summit clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Thursday.

Courtesy a 12-run success in the low-scoring thriller, the Hemang Badani-coached Super Gillies became the first side to achieve the feat in TNPL history. Chasing 127, Dindigul had no answers to G Periyaswamy’s (five for 15) sensational spell and could only make 114 for nine.

CSG launched itself in rollicking fashion with the ball, thanks to Man of the Match Periyaswamy. The canny fast bowler came up with a double-wicket maiden in the second over. He removed Narayan Jagadeesan and NS Chaturved for nought of the third and fifth balls respectively. Vijay Shankar, on his part, piled more misery on Dragons, dismissing C Hari Nishanth for four. After the fall of three quick wickets, Sumant Jain (46 runs, 47 balls, 3x4, 1x6) and Mohan Abhinav (21) churned out a 49-run partnership.

Harish Kumar proved to be the man with the golden arm for Chepauk, sending Abhinav back to the pavilion off his very first delivery. Just when R Vivek (23) and Sumant gave Dragons the upper hand with a 38-run alliance, Ramadoss Alexandar (two for 24) got the scalp of the former, providing the crucial breakthrough. With 23 required off the final two overs, the left-arm spinner returned to dismiss Sumant. Defending 15 off the last six balls, Periyaswamy closed out the innings for the victor with three wickets.

Earlier, U Sasidev (44 runs, 33 balls, 1x4, 3x6) and Murugan Ashwin (28 not out, 27 balls, 2x4, 1x6) rescued a sinking ship, guiding Super Gillies to a respectable total of 126 for eight. CSG got off to the worst possible start, losing three key wickets within the first five overs. It dealt a body blow in just the third ball of the innings as KH Gopinath failed to disturb the scoreboard.

The opening batsman fell trap to a well-worked Dragons move, holing out to Silambarasan in the deep off J Kaushik. Ganga Sridhar Raju soon followed his partner to the shed by finding Abhinav at cover point. The southpaw could muster just four runs from 11 deliveries, ending his painstaking stay in the middle.

Shankar (1), coming in on the back of a couple of failures, then fell for a single-digit score for a third successive time. Paceman Kaushik found his outside edge, with Jagadeesan, helped by the webbings in the glove, taking a one-handed catch. Super Gillies recorded its lowest-ever score (27 for three) in the powerplay overs and what a day for that to happen.

After solidifying the innings a little bit with U Sushil (21), skipper Kaushik Gandhi (22) too perished, in the ninth over bowled by leggie Abhinav. The former Tuti Patriots man was tempted to go inside out and M Mohammed took a clean grab at long-off. At the half-way stage of the first innings, CSG was tottering at 50 for four and needed someone to play the role of an anchor.

Sushil was the best available option, but he fell prey to Abhinav. Trying to go for a big heave, he was stumped by Jagadeesan, who had a fine day behind the wickets. Sasidev and Ashwin then stitched the team’s most productive stand, making 61 runs off 48 deliveries.

While the southpaw struck three maximums and a solitary four, Ashwin smashed two boundaries and a six. Had the pair not put on a half-century partnership at a crucial juncture, CSG would have found it difficult to end at more than run a ball.

Brief scores: Chepauk Super Gillies 126 for 8 in 20 overs (U Sasidev 44, M Ashwin 28*) beat Dindigul Dragons 114 for 9 in 20 overs (Sumant Jain 46, G Periyaswamy 5/15, Ramadoss Alexandar 2/24).