Clinical Chepauk hand Salem their third straight defeat of TNPL 2024

Chepauk Super Gillies clinched their third consecutive victory in the Shriram Capital Tamil Nadu Premier League 2024, defeating SKM Salem Spartans by 23 runs at SNR College Cricket Ground.

Opting to field first in windy conditions, Salem bowlers capitalized by dismissing both openers within the powerplay.

Baba Aparajith then stepped up to lead from the front, scoring a run-a-ball 41 runs to keep the scoreboard ticking. Nevertheless, Salem's disciplined bowling attack maintained consistent pressure on the Chepauk batters.

Salem's Sunny Sandhu troubled the Chepauk batters throughout his spell, finishing with figures of 2/20. He also dismissed Daryl Ferrario, who set the stage for a big finish for Chepauk with 23 off 13 balls. In the end, Abhishek Tanwar's brisk 26*(8), which included four sixes off the final over, propelled Chepauk Super Gillies to 156/7.

Chasing 157 for victory, Salem got off to a sluggish start in their innings. Chepauk bowlers, spearheaded by M Silambarasan, made things difficult for Salem, restricting them to 44/3 by the 11th over. Silambarasan utilized the pitch effectively, extracting more turn from the surface. The left-arm spinner ended with 1/10, including 17 dot balls.

Muhammed Adnan Khan and Robin Bist sought to revive Salem's innings, adding 51 runs for the fourth wicket. The duo started slowly, but Adnan Khan shifted to a more aggressive approach in the 13th over, hammering Surya for 23 runs. However, he was dismissed eventually for 31(22).  

Robin Bist, who held the innings together, departed for 36 off 32 balls, with Salem needing 45 runs from the last two overs. His departure marked the end of Salem's hopes for victory.

Earlier in the innings, Abhishek Tanwar scored 24 runs off Harish Kumar in the final over. Harish Kumar got his revenge by hitting four consecutive sixes off Abhishek Tanwar in reply, but it came too late for Salem as they fell 23 runs short of the target.

With Chepauk Super Gillies securing their third consecutive victory, they occupy the second position in the points table. Meanwhile, Salem remains at the bottom of the standings and must win all their remaining matches to have a safe shot at qualifying for the playoffs. This game also marks the end of the Coimbatore phase of TNPL 2024. The caravan moves to Tirunelveli for the next phase.

Salem's Shijit Chandran said: "Our death bowling is a concern for us. I feel like this is the main reason for our loss so far. We gave away 20 runs more than we should have. The conditions were difficult to bat on. Our batters tried their best but couldn't do much today."

Chepauk Super Gillies captain Baba Aparajith, who was also the player of the match, said: "We knew we could make up for the dot balls if we stayed until the end. The cameos from the top order helped Abhishek Tanwar to play with freedom in the end. We are playing well at the moment but must adapt quickly to Tirunelveli conditions. The team will take one match at a time."

Brief scores: CSG 156/7 in 20 overs (Aparjith 41; M Poiyamozhi 2/13) beat SS 133/5 in 20 overs (Robin Bist 36; Rahil Shah 3/13) by 23 runs

Player of the Match: Baba Aparajith

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