Match Details
After
restricting the Tamizhans to 135 in their 20 overs, the Spartans got off to the
worst start as they lost Gopinath early in the chase. He departed in the second
over and R Kavin along with S Ganesh started the recovery work. Both put up 33
between them before the Tamizhans picked up quick wickets to get back in the
game. They kept building pressure and never allowed the Spartans’ batters to
get going as they kept picking wickets at regular intervals.
Ravi
Karthikeyan tried hard on a tricky surface and scored 36 off 25 balls but his departure in the 18th
over meant that it was too much for them to do in the last over. Eventually,
they got bundled out on 103 as they lost the game by 32 runs. Each Tamizhans’ bowler
picked up at least a wicket, with S Mohan Prasath finishing with three wickets. M Mohammed and S Aravind also chipped in with a couple of scalps as they defended the total successfully.
Earlier in
the day, Salem Spartans’ skipper Murugan Ashwin won the toss and asked the
IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans to bat first. The Tamizhans got off to a solid start thanks
to their skipper Srikkanth Anirudha and S Aravind. Both put up a 50-run stand
between them. Rain arrived in the eighth over and it allowed the Spartans to
get back in the game. Their spinners bowled brilliantly in the middle phase and
pulled back things. Anirudha (32) and Aravind (25) departed in quick succession
and it allowed the Spartans to get back in the game.
The Tamizhans lost their way and never recovered from it. Maan Bafna remained unbeaten on 29 but failed to give his side a strong finish as the Tamizhans finished their innings on 135/5. Daryl Ferrario bowled beautifully and finished with figures of 2/21 in his four overs as it helped them restrict the Tamizhans to a low total but it proved to be too much for them as they failed to chase it down.