TNPL 2022 | Sanjay Yadav, Baba Aparajith Star in Nellai Super Kings's 3rd straight win

Baba Aparajith and Sanjay Yadav produced a ruthless batting display along with the Sri Neranjan brilliant bowling spell to help Nellai Royal Kings register their third successive win in the ongoing edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). 

Sanjay Yadav, who whacked an unbeaten 55 off just 19 deliveries, and Baba Aparajith (30-ball 59*) took the Dindigul bowling unit to the cleaners and smashed them all over the park to help their side chase down the total of 130 runs with six balls to spare and eight wickets in hand. 

For Dindigul Dragons, only L Vignesh and K Satish Monish could make a cut to the wicket-taking tally, having picked one wicket each. Earlier, Nellai Royal Kings won the toss and opted to bowl first in the rain-affected contest, which reduced the match to 12 overs per side.

After being sent to bat first, Dindigul Dragons were off to a flying start with openers Vishal Vaidhya (45) and skipper Hari Nishaanth (37) putting on an 82 run-stand for the opening wicket off just 47 balls. 

However, the Royal Kings' right-arm fast bowler R Sri Neranjan was on the money, and his pinpoint, accurate deliveries triggered a batting collapse. The 30-year-old picked the priced wicket of K Vishal Vaidhya, who was at his lethal best for the Dragons. Wicket-Keeper batter Mani Bharathi (1) and Rajendran Vivek (12) were the other victims of Neranjan's sheer pace. 

Satish Monish and Ganga Deep's late quick sparks propelled Dindigul Dragons to the total of 130 for 5 in the allocated 12 overs. Apart from Neranjan, who bagged a 3-wicket haul for the Kings, Davidson and star all-rounder Sanjay Yadav were other significant contributors with the ball, picking up one wicket each. 

Nellai Royal Kings, following this win, now have three wins from as many games and are currently leading the TNPL 2022 points table. On the other hand, for Dindigul Dragons, it was their second loss in three games, and they now occupy the fourth position in the standings. 

Brief Score: 

Dindigul Dragons: 130/5 (12 Overs) 

Vishal Vaidhya 45(21), Hari Nishaanth 37(27)

Sri Neranjan 3-32 (3) 

Nellai Royal Kings: 133/2 (11 Overs) 

Baba Aparajith 59*(30), Sanjay Yadav 55* (19)

L Vignesh 1-11 (2), Sotish Monish 1-32 (2) 

Nellai Royal Kings won by eight wickets.