Veteran Chandrasekar Ganapathy played the winning hand for Ruby Trichy Warriors who beat defending champions Chepauk Super Gillies by 31 runs for their second win in as many games in the 2018 Sankar Cement-TNPL at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.
The 37-year-old struck 26 not out off five balls in the death to lift Warriors to a commanding 180/4 after being put in to bat. The medium-pacer then sent back opener V Arun Kumar (with his first delivery), Gillies captain and opener KH Gopinath and S Karthik in his first two overs after opening the attack with left-arm spinner K Vignesh.
Ganapathy eventually finished with his first five-wicket haul in the competition.
S Suresh Kumar, hero of the team’s dramatic win over Dindigul Dragons in the tournament opener, hit a sensational 74 (48b, 2×4, 6×6) and skipper and opener B Indrajith hit a fluent 53 (50b, 4×4, 1×6) as the third-wicket pair stitched a 113-run stand.
Spin-strong Gillies had things under control until the end of 15 overs (109/2) before things changed dramatically in the death as Trichy thumped 71 runs – 45 of those in the final two overs.
Left-arm spinner M Siddharth went for 25 runs in the 19th, with Suresh Kumar hitting him for two sixes and Indrajith reaching his fifty with a six before being dismissed.
Next man Ganapathy hit a six off the last ball of the penultimate over and then went on to strike pacer R Vishaal for two fours and two sixes after Suresh Kumar had departed giving the charge.
It was Gillies’ first game of the season and the first time they have lost to Trichy in the competition.
Vignesh dismissed GS Raju but impressive B Rahul (53, 43b, 5×4, 1×6) and U Sasidev (31, 20b, 3×6) put on 62 for the fifth wicket before left-arm spinner Vignesh struck again to dismiss the latter.
Gillies required 71 off the final 30 balls but the target proved to be beyond their reach as they finished at 149/9 after Ganapathy picked up two more wickets on his return apart from effecting a run out.
Brief scores:
Ruby Trichy Warriors 180/4 in 20 overs (B Indrajith 53, S Suresh Kumar 74, C Ganapathy 26 not out, R Vishaal 2-36) bt Chepauk Super Gillies 149/9 in 20 overs (B Rahul 53, U Sasidev 31, K Vignesh 2-30, C Ganapathy 5-19).
AWARDS
‘Sankar Cement’ Maximum Sixes Award: Suresh Kumar S. (Ruby Trichy Warriors)
‘Krishna Mines Super White Super Fours’ Award: Baskaran Rahul (Chepauk Super Gillies)
‘Equitas Funtastic’ Player of the Match: Suresh Kumar S. (Ruby Trichy Warriors)
‘Sprite Most Refreshing Player’ Award: K. Vignesh (Ruby Trichy Warriors)
‘Sankar Cement Man of the Match’ Award: Ganapathi Chandrasekar (Ruby Trichy Warriors)
‘Most number of DOT BALL bowled in the match’ Award: Ganapathi Chandrasekar (Ruby Trichy Warriors)
