TNPL | Tushar starts and Pradosh finishes as Tamizhans get past Panthers

Tushar Raheja (48, 17b, 7×6) sparkled on his captaincy debut as he led from the front in iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans’ four-wicket win over Madurai Panthers in the TNPL-10 match at the MAC Stadium here on Thursday.

He was well supported by the experienced Pradosh Ranjan Paul, whose unbeaten 65 (45b, 8×4, 2×6) ensured the Tiruppur outfit recovered from a mid-innings wobble and got its fourth win of the season to move to the top of the table.

Chasing 158, Tushar almost sealed the contest for his side in the PowerPlay when he pulverised Panthers mystery spinner Rohan Bhutra for five sixes in the fifth over.

The southpaw kept it simple, clearing the straight boundaries at will to take Tamizhans to 81 for two in six overs.

However, Panthers did not go down meekly, thanks to Shoaib Mohammed Khan’s fine spell of four for 21. The off-spinner struck thrice in two overs to reduce Tamizhans to 91 for five in nine overs.

Fortunately, Pradosh showed great composure in slowly chipping away at the target, playing some exquisite drives through the off-side, before closing it out in style with a hooked six over fine-leg.

Earlier, Tamizhans’ left-arm spinners M. Mathivannan (three for 18) and Mohan Prasath (two for 27) ran through the Panthers batting line-up, restricting it to 157 for nine.

The 2018 champion was tottering at 76 for seven at one stage before Bhutra and Atheeq Ur Rahman added 73 for the eighth wicket to get the Madurai franchise to a respectable total. However, on a good batting pitch, it was a few runs too little.

The scores: Madurai Panthers 157/9 in 20 overs (Atheeq Ur Rahman 43, Rohan Bhutra 36, Natarajan 2/48, Mohan Prasath 2/27, Mathivannan 3/18) lost to iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans 160/6 in 17.4 overs (Tushar Raheja 48, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 65 n.o., Shoaib Mohammed Khan 4/21).

Friday’s matches: Vida Kovai Kings vs. Dindigul Dragons (3.30 p.m.); Trichy Grand Cholas vs. Chepauk Super Gillies (7.30 p.m.).