Cricket

Dindigul Dragons Triumph in TNPL Final, Led by Ashwin's HeroicsIn a thrilling climax to the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), Dindigul Dragons emerged victorious, claiming their maiden title with a six-wicket triumph over defending champions Lyca Kovai Kings. The final, held in Chennai on Sunday, witnessed a captivating display of skill and determination.Dindigul Dragons, chasing a modest target of 130 runs, relied on the steady hand of their captain, Ravichandran Ashwin. The all-rounder played a pivotal role, scoring a crucial 52 runs off 46 deliveries, including a four and three towering sixes. His partnership with Baba Indrajith, who contributed 32 runs off 35 balls, proved decisive in the team's victory.The Dragons' middle-order batsmen, guided by the calm and composed Ashwin, successfully chased down the target with 10 balls remaining. They scored 46 runs for the loss of two wickets during the powerplay, setting the tone for their eventual triumph.The Lyca bowlers, despite their best efforts, could only manage to pick up one wicket each during the innings. Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, Manimaran Siddharth, Valliappan Yudheeswaran, and Shahrukh each claimed a scalp, but it was not enough to prevent Dindigul's march to victory.Earlier, Dindigul's bowlers had kept the Lyca batters in check, taking wickets at regular intervals. Sandeep Warrier made the first breakthrough, dismissing Suresh Kumar in the third over. Varun Chakravarthy then struck twice in the sixth over, followed by P Vignesh dismissing Sai Sudharsan.Atheeq Ur Rahman and Ram Arvindh attempted to stage a comeback for the defending champions, forming a partnership of 36 runs for the fifth wicket. However, their efforts were thwarted when Subodh Bhati dismissed Rahman. Vignesh then added to Lyca's troubles by dismissing skipper Shahrukh Khan.Struggling at 105/6, Arvindh couldn't stay at the crease either, giving a catch to Sandeep Warrier. Cameos from the tail-enders pushed the score to 129/7, but it was not enough to challenge Dindigul's dominance.Ashwin finished with figures of 0/13 for Dindigul, while Vignesh (2/15) and Chakravarthy (2/26) were the standout performers.

At 37, R Ashwin is expanding his batting range in his first full Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) season. Known for his boundary-hitting prowess down the ground, Ashwin has been working on playing boundary shots square of the wicket, a strategy that has paid off.In Qualifier 2 against Idream Tiruppur Tamizhans, Ashwin dismantled left-arm fingerspinners R Sai Kishore and S Ajith Ram with reverse-sweeps, scoring 28 off nine balls. Overall, he has amassed 200 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 166.66, with five innings coming at the top or No. 3 for Dindigul Dragons."Everything is work in progress," Ashwin said. "I felt like I needed to widen my game square of the wicket because I know I can hit the ball down the ground. I wanted to explore other options to keep myself interested in the game."Dindigul's rookie left-arm fingerspinner P Vignesh, who missed the Under-19 World Cup cut for India, has impressed with his accuracy and control. In Qualifier 2, he claimed 3 for 8 and the Player-of-the-Match award.Ashwin urged the next generation of cricketers to embrace failures and improve their skills. "Missing the Under-19 cut is not the end of the world," he said. "Failure and success are normal, and people become better only through failures. I hope they're ready to expand their game and find answers to the questions that are going to be asked."Meanwhile, Shahrukh Khan of Lyca Kovai Kings has been working on a technical tweak to improve his game against spin. He has been using a trigger movement where he pushes his weight forward, which has helped him score off both the front and back foot.Shahrukh's overall strike rate against pace in the IPL is 161.11, but it falls to 112 against spin. However, in IPL 2024, he managed to lift his strike rate against spin to 168.75.Despite losing to Dindigul in the league phase, Shahrukh is confident his team can put together their "best cricket" in the final. "We're taking it as just another game," he said. "We still haven't played our best cricket this year, and we will try and do that."

Lyca Kovai Kings emerged victorious in the inaugural match of the eighth season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), defeating Chepauk Super Gillies by 13 runs at the Salem Cricket Foundation (SCF) ground.B. Sachin, the Kovai Kings' top-scorer, played a crucial role in their victory, amassing 63 runs off 53 deliveries, including eight boundaries. His innings helped the Kings post a competitive total of 141 for seven wickets in their allotted 20 overs.Chasing a target of 142, the Super Gillies made a promising start, with skipper B. Aparajith and N. Jagadeesan putting on a 56-run partnership for the second wicket. However, the introduction of medium-pacer M. Mohammed proved to be a turning point. Mohammed dismissed Jagadeesan and Aparajith in quick succession, leaving the Super Gillies reeling at 72 for three.Despite a valiant effort from Pradosh Ranjan Paul, who scored 40 runs off 32 deliveries, the Super Gillies were unable to maintain the required run rate. Mohammed's impressive bowling in the final over, where he successfully defended 18 runs, sealed the victory for the Kovai Kings.Earlier, after Aparajith opted to bowl first, medium-pacer Abhishek Tanwar made an immediate impact for the Super Gillies, dismissing J. Suresh Kumar and S. Sujay in his first two overs. Pradosh's throw from midwicket caught Shahrukh Khan short at the non-striker's end, leaving the Kovai Kings struggling at 34 for three after the PowerPlay.However, Sachin and U. Mukilesh (31 runs off 25 deliveries) steadied the Kovai Kings' innings with a 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Sachin's aggressive batting, including a six over deep midwicket, kept the scoreboard ticking.In the end, the Kovai Kings' total proved to be just enough to secure the victory, as the Super Gillies fell short by 13 runs.