TNPL 2018: Karaikudi Kaalai Thrashed Kanchi Veerans by Eight Wickets

So, it was a captain’s knock from Anirudha Srikkanth as Karaikudi Kaalai registered a comfortable win in the ongoing edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).

Kanchi Veerans did not have enough onboard even after late blistering cameos from the lower order batters. Kaalai won the game by eight wickets with 21 balls to spare.

Where Kanchi Veerans lost:

While batting first, the Veerans could only put a total of 146 on board. Apart from Vishal Vaidhya, who scored 40 off 34 balls, the top order of Veerans faced a major slump followed by middle-order which pushed the team on the backfoot.

Starting from the opening batsman S Sidharth, four of their batsman from top and middle-order failed to enter into double figures.

A blistering knock from Anirudha Srikkanth:

It was a skipper’s knock from Srikkanth, who walked off unbeaten on 93 off just 49 balls that helped Kaalai to claim their easiest victory in the tournament.

While chasing a target of 146, Kalaai lost V Aditya early on. He scored just five runs. It was a much-needed partnership between Maan Bafna and Srikkanth that set a plot for an easy chase.

Bafna got out while scoring run-a-ball 24. It was Rajhamany Srinivasan, who joined the crease after Maan as he scored unbeaten 19 off 19.

Who said what:

“They played really well. If you lose four wickets in the powerplay, you lose the game. 145 was too low in this wicket. 180 would’ve been par. Need to focus on batting, 145 in both games isn’t enough, need to score more. Bowlers did a pretty good job. Will come back stronger in the next game.” – Baba Aparjith, the losing captain, said.

The skipper of Kaalai Srikkanth was regarded as Man of the Match.

Here is what he said:

“The first game we played really good cricket. Took the confidence forward. Fantastic start by Yo Mahesh. To get nine wickets on this pitch is a fantastic job. Chasing ground. We were on it from ball one. Who wouldn’t want to bat on this wicket? One of the best grounds in Tamil Nadu. Just tried to hit through the line. Will take a lot of confidence from this game. Still early in the tournament, but this is definitely a momentum changer for us. Want to take every game as it comes.” – Anirudha Srikkanth, the winning captain