TNPL 2022 | B Anirudh's fifty helps Siechem beat Chepauk by 4 wickets

The Siechem Madurai Panthers rode on an excellent half-century knock from Balchander Anirudh to thrash the Chepauk Super Gillies in the 3rd clash of the TNPL 2022 on Saturday (June 25) at the Indian Cement Company Ground in Tirunelveli.

Chasing a small target of 136, V Aaditya and Aarun Karthik provided a decent start to their side, sharing a 24-run partnership for the opening wicket. 

Sandeep Warrier provided the first breakthrough to the Chepauk, removing Aaditya for a score of 10. Aarun Karthik then joined hands with Balchander Anirudh and started to clock runs on board, smashing the CSG bowlers all over the park.

The duo went on to share the 50-run stand for the second wicket off just 29 balls before wicket-keeper batter Karthik was cleaned up by Alexander for 31. 

Just after Karthik's departure, the next delivery from Alexander saw skipper N Chaturved walking back to the pavilion after claiming a golden duck. 

Jagatheesan Kousik failed to open his run account as he followed N Chaturved back to the dugout after getting bowled by Alexander on a stunning delivery. 

K Rajkumar did try to stabilize the inning but couldn't go past the 20-run mark as skipper Kaushik Gandhi trapped him at long-on off a slower delivery. 

Balchender Anirudh, who kept one end steady while the wickets kept falling from the other end, smashed an unbeaten 58 off 41 deliveries to avoid the further collapse and take his side past the finish line. 

The winning runs for the Panthers came off Sandhu's bat as he smashed four runs off the first ball of the 19th over to hand the defending champions their second consecutive loss in the tournament.

Ramadoss Alexander was the pick of the bowlers for Chepauk Super Gillies, having picked three wickets in his quota of 4 overs. Sandeep Warrier and skipper Kaushik Gandhi bagged one wicket each. 

After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, the Siechem Madurai Panthers restricted Chepauk Super Gillies to 135/8 in 20 overs. However, after putting to bat first, the defending champions never looked settled in front of the Madurai Panthers' bowling attack.

The Super Gillies' top order suffered a terrible batting collapse as their first five wickets fell with the scorecard reading just 37 in power play. However, the Madurai Panthers' bowlers kept assaulting the Chepauk batters and stamped their authority over the opposition. 

Uthirasamy Sasidev's 43-ball 58 and the late spark from Harish Kumar (39* off 43) were the only good thing in an otherwise underwhelming inning as it helped Super Gillies reach a respectable total at the end of the allocated 20 overs.  

Kiran Akash and Varun Chakravarthy were the pick of the bowlers for Panther, picking up 3 and 2 wickets, respectively. Sandhu, Silambarasan, and Aushik Srinivas ended with one wicket each. 

Brief Scores:

Chepauk Super Gillies: 135/8 (20)

U Sasidev 58(43), Harish Kumar 39*(43)

Kiran Akash 3/34 (4), V Chakravarthy 2/28 (4)

Siechem Madurai Panthers: 136/6 (18.1)

B Anirudh 58*(41), A Karthik 31(22)

R Alexander 3/20 (4)

Siechem Madurai Panthers won by four wickets.