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TNPL Match 13: Dindigul Dragons vs Madurai Panthers Review

The match 13^th of the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2022 saw Dindigul Dragons and Madurai Panthers go head-to-head against each other. It was a battle between the number two and number three ranked team in the tournament. The Panthers won the toss and chose to bowl first as has been the strategy in the tournament so far.

The Dragons’ innings started in the worst possible manner as they lost the opener Vishal Vaidhya in the very first over. The innings was held together by captain Hari Nishanth and wicketkeeper Mani Bharathi as they added 51 runs for the second wicket. Things started going haywire for Dragons soon as they lost both the set batsmen in back-to-back run-outs.

They couldn’t recover from this disaster as they kept losing wickets in quick succession. The team was reeling at 92/9 and was struggling to reach even the 100-run mark. But RS Mokit Hariharan took things into his own hands and scored a brilliant 43 off 31 balls, thereby guiding his team to the total of 122 in their allotted 20 overs.

For Panthers, Sunny Sandhu picked up 3 wickets for 11 runs in 4 overs, while Varun Chakravarthy picked up 2 for 14 in 4 overs. The Panthers began their chase with positive intent. They lost their first wicket on the score of 27 after 3.2 overs but Arun Karthik and Balchander Anirudh came together to make sure the team don’t face any hiccup in the chase.

The duo added 55 runs for the second wicket. Karthik lost his wicket after scoring 41 off 31 balls. Anirudh kept playing positively from the other hand as he scored a brilliant 51 off 34 balls. L Vignesh, M Silambarasan and VP Diran picked up one wicket each but failed to stop the Panthers from chasing the total. Patnthers, eventually, reached their target in 15.3 overs.

Balchander Anirudh was awarded ‘Player of the Match’ for his unbeaten half-century. With this win, the Panthers rose to the second position on the points table, having won three out of their four games. The Dragons are placed third with two wins out of their five games. The Panthers will have their next game against Salem Spartans on 11^th July, while the Dragons will face off against Chepauk Super Gillies on 16^th July.

Dindigul Dragons : 122/9  (20 overs)

RS Mokit Hariharan 43* (31)  Hari Nishanth 24(26)

Sunny Sandhu  4-1-11-3    Varun Chakravarthy 4-0-14-2

Madurai Panthers : 126/3   (15.3 overs)

Balchander Anirudh  51* (34)      Arun Karthik 41 (31)

M Silambarasan  4-0-24-1            L. Vignesh   3-0-23-1

POM – Balchander Anirudh