TNPL 2022 | N Rajagopal's blitz helps Ruby Trichy Warriors beat Dindigul Dragons by 8 wickets

Top knocks from Nidhish Rajagopal and Adithya Ganesh powered Ruby Trichy Warriors to an easy eight-wicket win over Dindigul Dragons in the second match of the TNPL 2022, played at Tirunelveli on Friday (June 24). 

The Rahil Shah-led side was given a respectable target of 145 to win. They had a decent start to their innings as their opening duo – Amith Sathvik and Murali Vijay - shared a 33-run stand for the first wicket. However, Dingingul bowlers quickly made a comeback and wiped out the pair in the same over to leave RTW reeling at 33/2 in five overs. 

And it was it for the DD bowlers as they failed to keep the Warriors on the backfoot after their powerplay assault. N Rajagopal (48-ball 64) and Adithya Ganesh (38-ball 37) took the game away from the opposition with an unbeaten 114-run partnership off just 87 balls. 

Dindigul Dragons were left to rue a terrible bowling performance from their bowlers as they didn't hit the right areas and conceded too many extras. A couple of catch drops and misfields also undermined their chances of winning this match. 

Earlier, Ruby Trichy Warriors' skipper Rahil Shah won the toss and chose to bowl first. His bowlers justified his decision as they restricted the Dragons to the score of 144 for 8 in the first innings. 

After putting to bat first, the Dragons got off to a terrible start, losing their opener Ganga Pradeep in the first over. Skipper Hari Nishaanth (15-ball 25) tried to steady the ship but couldn't contribute much. 

The wicket-Keeper batter Mani Bharathi and Vishal Vaidhya did try to capitalize on the start the skipper had provided but couldn't go past the 18-run mark. 

Post that, the Dragons had a terrible batting collapse. Satish Monish (24 off 19) and L Vignesh (32* off 20) launched some late fireworks to take the team to the respectable total of 144 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. 

Ajay Krishna was the Warriors' top wicket-taker with two wickets to his name. He conceded just 9 runs in his quota of 4 overs, which makes up for a brilliant economy of 2.25. Skipper Rahil Shah was equally impactful with the ball, having bagged two wickets. 

Meanwhile, A Dhas, Poiyamozhi, M Mozhi and Saravan Kumar took one wicket each. Among these, Saravan Kumar turned out to be the most expensive bowler for the Warriors, having conceded 50 runs in 3 overs. 

Brief Scores:

Dindigul Dragons: 144/8 (20)

L Vignesh 32*(20), Hari Nishaanth 25 (15);

Ajay Krishna 2/9 (4), Rahil Shah 2/24 (4)

Ruby Trichy Warriors: 147/2 (20)

Nidhish Rajagopal 64*(48), Adithya Ganesh 37*(38) 

Manoj Kumar 1/31 (4)

Ruby Trichy Warriors won by eight wickets.