'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAEAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwj/2gAIAQEAAAAAp5v/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA/9oACAECEAAAAH//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA/9oACAEDEAAAAH//xAAaEAABBQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAxAREyFC/9oACAEBAAE/AEJpPeib/8QAFBEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/aAAgBAgEBPwB//8QAFBEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/aAAgBAwEBPwB//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
In the penultimate group stage match of TNPL 2022, the Siechem Madurai Panthers went up against the Ruby Trichy Warriors at the SCF Cricket Ground in Salem on Sunday.
It was the first match of a doubleheader, with Madurai needing to win by a huge margin to finish above the Chepauk Super Gillies. While they managed to secure two points in the end, their 36-run margin was nowhere close to what they needed to finish second.
Put into bat by Rahil Shah's side, it was an underwhelming batting effort from Madurai. The Trichy captain struck early to remove the dangerous Arun Karthik. Madurai couldn't accelerate after the wicket, resulting in another low-scoring powerplay.
Balchander Anirudh did look comfortable at the crease, but his run-out in the 11th over derailed Madurai's innings. The Trichy spinners began applying pressure, and the Madurai batters couldn't break free. After a fabulous 19th over from M Poiyamozhi, Madurai were stranded at 114/6 in 19 overs. However, Sunny Sandhu's blitzkrieg in the last over yielded 22 runs as they finished with 136/6.
Trichy's response began well enough, with openers Santhosh Shiv and Amit Sathvik seeing the powerplay through. Jagatheesan Koushik broke the opening partnership in the eighth over, the first of four wickets for him. While they didn't lose too many wickets in quick succession, they never matched up to the required run rate.
In their bid to accelerate in the 15th over, Trichy collapsed. From 87/3, they lost seven wickets for only 13 runs, getting all out for a mere 100 in 18.5 overs. Sunny Sandhu bowled an economical spell of 1/5 in three overs, Varun Chakravarthy, Kiran Akash, and Jagatheesan Koushik were also among the wickets.
TNPL 2022 Updated Points Table
Madurai's win wasn't enough to take them to second place, with CSG's NRR of +1.093 securing them a spot in Qualifier 1. Madurai will take on the Lyca Kovai Kings in the Eliminator of TNPL 2022 on Tuesday.
