TNPL 2022 | R Silambarasan's four-for helps Madurai Panthers outlay Murugan Ashwin's Salem Spartans

Ragupathy Silambarasan bagged a 4-wicket haul as Siechem Madurai Panthers outsmarted Salem Spartans by 39 runs in the 16th match of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2022 at the SNR College Cricket Ground on Monday.

In the quest for a 166-run chase, Murugan Ashwin's led side never really got the momentum and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Once again, the abysmal performance from the batting unit let the Spartans down against the quality bowling attack. 

Pranav Kumar, with an unbeaten 25 off 27 balls, was their highest scorer as the Salem Spartans, in their huffed and puffed chase, could only manage to reach just 126 for the loss of nine wickets, losing the encounter by 39 runs.

The 29-year-old right-arm quick R Silambarasan was at his lethal best with the ball as he never allowed the Salem batter to find any rhythm in the middle. The speedster finished his spell with four wickets while conceding only 22 runs in his quota of 4 overs.

PK Saravanan, the left-arm spinner, spun a web around Spartans' batters as he finished his quota of 4 overs with two wickets with a startling economy of just 2.25. B Rocky also bagged a two-wicket haul for Madurai Panthers.

Earlier, Siechem Madurai Panthers, after being invited to bat first, got a decent start with both of their openers – K Rajkumar (26-ball 29) and Arun Karthik (13-ball 13), putting up a 31-run stand for the opening wicket. 

Following Karthik's dismissal, K Rajkumar joined hands with Vignesh S Iyer (14-ball 16) to keep the scoreboard pulsing before Ganesh Moorthi entered the game with double assaults in an over to get rid of the duo and bring the Spartans back into the game.

Post their dismissals, Skipper NS Chaturved and Rithik Easwaran steadied the batting ship for Madurai Panthers by stitching a 59-run partnership off just 39 balls against a disciplined Spartans bowling attack.

While wicketkeeper batter Easwaran whacked 41 runs off 27 balls with the help of three boundaries and as many sixes, NS Chaturved played an impactful cameo of 24-ball 34 before G Kishoor got him trapped off a slower delivery. 

After the clearance of this duo, none of their batters could find any tempo as the team reached 165 run mark for the loss of 7 wickets at the end of 20 overs.

On the bowling front, Salem Spartans pacer G Kishoor was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets to his name, followed by M Ganesh Moorthi, who scalped two wickets in his quota of 4 overs.

It was the fourth win for the Siechem Madurai Panthers out of five matches they played in the ongoing tournament. With 8 points in their kitty and a decent NRR, SMP are placed second in the TNPL standings. 

Murugan Ashwin-led Salem Spartans, meanwhile, were served their third straight defeat from as many matches. Winless in the season so far, they currently occupy the bottom place in the points table. 

Brief Score: 

Siechem Madurai Panthers: 165/7 (20 Overs)

K Easwaran 41 (27), N Chaturved 34 (24);

G Kishoor 3-39 (4), M Ganesh Moorthi 2-30 (4) 

Salem Spartans: 126/9 (20 Overs) 

Pranav Kumar 25 (27), S Abhishek 18 (24); 

R Silambarasan 4-22(4), P Saravanan 2-9 (4)

Siechem Madurai Panthers won by 39 runs.