TNPL 2018: Kaushik Gandhi's century blows away VB Kanchi Veerans

Former champions and the most successful side in the history of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), Tuti Patriots got their 2018 campaign underway by registering a huge 48-run win over VB Kanchi Veerans in the fourth game at the ICL cricket ground in Tirunelveli.

Tuti skipper Kaushik Gandhi was the star of the show as he scored an unbeaten 111 off just 68 balls to take his side to victory.

Opting to bat first, Tuti were off to a great start as openers S Dinesh and Kaushik scored 63 runs in the first six overs before Dinesh was castled by Sanjay Yadav. Anand Subramanian joined Kaushik in the middle and the duo played an excellent brand of cricket as they kept their team in pole position to reach a score in excess of 180.

Kaushik reached his fifty and was looking good to take his team to a good total. Anand got out in a soft manner for 37 and that brought veteran R Sathish to the crease. Kaushik stepped on the accelerator and with R Sathish, he put on 45 runs in just 4.3 overs and that set the platform for Tuti's bid to score over 180.

Kaushik paddle swept R Silambarasan, who conceded the most runs by any bowler in TNPL (4-0-61-1), for a boundary in-between the square-leg and fine-leg fielder to bring his maiden T20 century off 66 balls. He remained unbeaten on 111 off 68 balls with the help of 13 fours and three sixes as his team finished with 191/3 on the board.

Chasing a mammoth score of 192, VB Kanchi Veerans kept losing wickets at regular intervals and an economical bowling effort from the Tuti bowlers led by Malolan Rangarajan meant that the Veerans were blown away by Tuti.

V Subramania Siva and Vishal Vaidya with 33 runs each tried their best but Veerans fell short by 48 runs. Akash Sumra, Malolan and Athisayaraj Davidson were the picks of the Tuti bowlers as they both picked two wickets apiece.

Turning point: Kaushik Gandhi's 100 meant Veerans needed someone to step up and dominate the middle overs. But, the Tuti spinners kept the batsmen at bay from overs 7-13 and put their team on top.

Brief scores: VB Kanchi Veerans 143/9 (V Subramania Siva 33, Aakash Sumra 2/23, Athisayaraj Davidson 2/32, Malolan Rangarajan 2/31) lost to Jones Tuti Patriots 191/3 (Kaushik Gandhi 111*, S Anand 37) by 48 runs.

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