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TNPL 2023| All-round NRK Brush Madurai Aside In A Low Scoring Contest

image-livrl8pvHari Nishanth scored 64 off 51. (PC: Periasamy/Twitter)

Nellai Royal Kings: 129/4 in 13.4 overs [Rajagopal- 42*(26), Arun Karthik- 32 (12); Surya- 1/37 (4), Gowtham- 1/4 (1)] beat Siechem Madurai Panthers:126/8 in 20 overs [Hari Nishanth- 64 (51), Sundar- 19 (17); Prasath- 3/26 (4), Poiyamozhi- 2/17 (4)] by 6 wickets

Riding on the disciplined bowling performance on the two-paced deck, followed by a comfortable chase with the bat, Nellai Royal Kings won the first match of their campaign, beating Siechem Madurai Panthers by 6 wickets in Match 3 of the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL 2023) in Coimbatore.

Hari Nishanth or nothing for the Panthers

After electing to bat first, Siechem Madurai Panthers got off to a slow start, managing just 28 runs in the powerplay with the loss of 2 wickets. Nellai Royal Kings seamers were spot on from the word go as they managed to use the conditions well and kept the opposition quiet.

Hari Nishanth, who opened the innings, was looking to rebuild the innings alongside Washington Sundar at 4. Eventually, the duo ensured the scoreboard kept ticking as Madurai Panthers were 60 for 2 at the halfway mark.

Just when the Panthers were looking to gain momentum, Mohit Prasath pulled things back in the middle. He removed Sundar in his very first over as the southpaw failed to execute a reverse-sweep finding a fielder.

Prasath went on to remove Nishanth, who completed his half century and was looking to provide a big finish to the innings. The innings went down the hills after losing Nishanth as the Panthers could only score 22 runs in the last 4 overs, finishing with 126 for 8.

Left arm spinner Mohan Prasath was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 wickets in his spell. Poiyamozhi and Sonu Yadav were brilliant at the business end, giving absolutely nothing away with outstanding displays of slower balls and yorkers.

Arun Karthik, Rajagopal sees NRK home

Chasing a paltry 127, Nellai Royal Kings got off to a flying start, scoring 30 runs in the very first over. They ended with 57 on the board at the end of the powerplay but lost two wickets as well. Arun Karthik killed the asking early in the powerplay with a quick 32 off 12.

Nidhish Rajagopal, coming at three, kept the onslaught going after the powerplay and ensured that the Panthers did not get any chance to make a comeback in the game. The Kings got themselves over the line with more than 6 overs remaining. Rajagopal remained unbeaten with a 42 off 26.

Siechem Madurai Panthers will be looking to bounce back after such a huge defeat in the very first match of their campaign. They cannot play the catch-up game like today in such a short tournament and will need some significant performance in the upcoming games to stay alive in the competition.