Arun Karthik's combative century went in vain as Sichem Madurai Panthers lost the high-scoring thriller against the league leaders Nellai Royal Kings by 26 runs in the 10th match of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2022 on Tuesday.
Chasing a daunting target of 210 runs, Siechem Madurai Panthers' batters succumbed to scoreboard pressure as they kept losing wickets at equal intervals with Arun Karthik holding one end tightly.
It was a one-man army show for SMP as Karthik whacked 106 runs off 57 balls to keep the Panthers active in the chase. Skipper N Chaturved (15-ball 27) and Jagatheesan Kousik (20-ball 21) also played quick cameos but couldn't take the team past the finish line.
Karthik's wicket was last to fall for Madurai Panthers; with his departure, all the hopes for SMP's victory were forfeited. Except for the forenamed trio, none of their batters could cross the 5-run mark as the team fell 26-run short of the target.
For Nellai Royal Kings, NS Harish bagged 3 wicket haul and conceded 30 runs in his quota of 4 overs. K Easwaran also got a couple of wickets for NRK.
Earlier, Nellai Royal Kings, after putting to bat first progressed to post the highest total of this season thanks to ferocious batting performance from opener Sri Neranjan (47) and star all-rounder Sanjay Yadav, who yet again stepped up for his side and bludgeoned unbeaten 70 runs off just 42.
Following Ranjan Paul's early dismissal for 10 runs, skipper Baba Aparajith joined forces in the middle and contributed with a quick 27-ball 34 cameo.
Baba Indrajith also had his share of contributions with the bat as he smacked 34 runs off just 18 balls and shared an unbeaten 100-run stand with Sanjay Yadav for the fourth wicket to propel NRK to a mammoth total of 209/3 off 20 overs.
For Siechem Madurai Panthers, Kiran Akash yet again shined with the ball, picking up 2 wickets in his quota of 4 overs, followed by R Mithun, who got one wicket by conceding 14 runs in his 2 overs.
It was the first defeat for Siechem Madurai Panthers in the season while Nellai Royal Kings continued their good run in the tournament, bagging their fourth straight win to retain their top spot in the TNPL standings.
Brief Scores:
Nellai Royal Kings: 209/3 (20 Overs)
Sanjay Yadav 70* (42), Sri Neranjan 47 (27); Kiran Akash 2-44 (4)
Siechem Madurai Panthers: 183/8 (20 Overs)
Arun Karthik 106 (57), N Chaturved 27 (15); N Harish 3-30 (4), K Easwaran 2-31 (4)
Nellai Royal Kings Won by 26 runs