TNPL 2023: Nellai Royal Kings and Dindigul Dragons emerge victorious against Madurai Panthers and Ba11sy Trichy

Mohan Prasath’s three-wicket haul triggers Madurai Panthers’ collapse; star-studded Dindigul Dragons proves too strong for Ba11sy Trichy 

K.B. Arun Karthick (32, 12b, 4x4, 2x6) and Nidhish Rajagopal (42, 26b, 1x4, 4x6) steered Nellai Royal Kings to a six-wicket win over Siechem Madurai Panthers in the TNPL at the Sri Ramakrishna CAS grounds here on Wednesday.

Earlier, Panthers chose to bat. But, it failed to go according to its plan as the Kings had opener S. Karthick and Deeban Lingesh inside the first six overs.

But skipper C. Hari Nishaanth, who watched it all happen, first forged a bond with Washington Sundar and later went on the hunt.

He knew it was his responsibility to steady the ship and he did that with an assured knock of 64 (51b, 4x4, 3x6).

Nishaanth demonstrated the sort of confidence that one often sees him play on this surface here. He stitched a 49-run stand for the third wicket with Sundar and continued to lead the fight with a 30-run partnership with J. Kousik which came off 25 balls to lead the recovery.

However, when Nishaanth fell to left-arm spinner S. Mohan Prasath (three for 26), the best of the bowlers, the sparkle was lost and the team managed a meagre 126 for eight.

It was not enough as the Kings’ openers Arun Karthick and Impact Player R. Sri Neranjan scored faster as usual in the PowerPlay. After they fell in quick succession, Nidhish took over and saw the team cross the line with comfort.