After posting highest total in this ongoing third edition of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL 2018), Dindigul Dragons is the first team to make star entry in the semi-final of this Twenty20 season.
However, Siechem Madurai Panthers have another chance in the second qualifier to remain alive in the tournament.
The first qualifier took place in Tirunelveli after getting postponed earlier due to death of renowned and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi.
A summary of the match:
While batting first, Dindigul Dragons put a staggering total on the board, and that looked difficult to chase down in a game like a qualifier in itself. The Dragons registered a mammoth total of 203 for the loss of six wickets in 20 allotted overs.
Dragons got off to a flier as Hari Nishanth along with N Jagadeesan put an opening partnership of 90 runs. It was R Karthikeyan, who provided the first breakthrough to Madurai Panthers. Jagadeesan scored an excellent knock of 43 off 34 deliveries.
Despite the breakthrough, the bowlers of Madurai could not stem the pace of run-rate as Dragons crossed the mark of 120 in just 12 overs.
Balchander Anirudh along with Nishanth continue to score freely as both scored their respective half-centuries. Nishant scored 57 of just 31 deliveries while as Vivek played a brilliant knock of 54 off 25 balls.
TNPL 2018: Semi-final; Dindigul Dragons vs Madurai Panthers –
While chasing a total of 204 runs, Panthers lost their first wicket in just second over which almost sealed victory to Dragons.
Panthers lost their first wicket in the form of the in-form batsman, Arun Karthik, who gifted a simple catch to Vivek.
In the fourth over of Panther’s inning, M Mohammed got two back to back wickets that dented the chase of Dragons. He took the wicket of Panther’s skipper, D Rohit who scored mere ten runs.
Also, apart from the skipper, Thalaivan Sargunam was the second victim of Mohammed, who scored just eight runs.
Panthers lost their wickets on regular intervals. After Mohammed, it was Trilok Nag, who got two wickets in two consecutive overs. But Mohan Abhinav continued with the same fable as he too bagged two wickets.
From Panthers, only Abhishek Tanwar, the number eight batsman crossed the mark of 20 runs. Madurai Panthers lost their final wicket on the score of 128 runs and eventually lost the match by 75 runs.