Sonu Yadav leads from the front as Nellai Royal Kings topple Salem Spartans

Sonu Yadav's five-wicket haul guided Nellai Royal Kings to a three-wicket victory in the final league match at Salem Cricket Foundation Ground on July 11 (Thursday).

Nellai Royal Kings asserted early dominance after choosing to bowl first, dismissing both openers within the powerplay. Emmanuel Cherian displayed quick reflexes off his bowling to remove Abishiek, while Sonu Yadav followed up by removing both in-form batters, Kavin and Vivek Raj, in consecutive overs.

Sonu Yadav, in particular, stood out with the ball initially. The all-rounder effectively denied Kavin any scoring opportunities by bowling tight length, and his well-executed quicker deliveries proved decisive in dismissing Vivek Raj.

Later in the game, he grabbed three more wickets to finish with 5 for 30. Sonu Yadav also was outstanding in the field, taking three catches. He received solid support from the other bowlers. R Silambarasan grabbed two wickets, while Emmanuel Cherian, Mohan Prasath, and Harish contributed with one wicket each, effectively restricting Salem to a par 141.

In response, Salem's bowlers struggled initially in the match but rallied to pick up wickets at regular intervals. Yazh Arun Mozhi was the main catalyst with the ball, disrupting Nellai's top order effectively. The off-spinner finished with his TNPL career-best figures of 3/17.

Nellai's Mokit Hariharan failed to impact the scoreboard, while captain Arun Karthick departed after scoring 11 runs off 8 balls. However, Ajitesh and Nidhish Rajagopal stabilized the chase with a partnership of 40 runs off 31 balls for the third wicket. Ajitesh notched up 45 runs off 36 balls, and Nidhish Rajagopal added 19 runs.

Nellai never struggled with the required run rate throughout their innings, always needing less than eight runs per over. However, their consistent loss of wickets allowed SKM Salem Spartans to regain momentum in the game.

As they entered the final four overs, Nellai required 24 runs to win with four wickets still in hand, setting the stage for a close finish. However, Nellai's impactful player, Suryapprakash, played a patient innings of 43 not out off 35 balls to guide the team over the line. With this crucial victory, Nellai Royal Kings now move to the top of the points table.

Talking about the loss, SKM Salem Spartans captain Shijit Chandran said: "We were 15-20 runs short. I think we bowled really well but we should have batted cautiously to take more singles rather than targetting only boundaries. We had a lot of positives to take from the game, especially on the bowling front."

The player of the match for his five-wicket haul, Sonu Yadav, said: I have been working a lot with my variations and the pitch helped me as well. Also, yes, I have been working on my fitness too."

Brief Scores:

Nellai Royal Kings 144/7 (Ajitesh G 45, Laxmesha Suryaprakash 43; Yazh Arun Mozhi 3/17) beat Salem Spartans 141 all out (Robin Bist 23, Shijit Chandran 20; Sonu Yadav 5/30) 

Player of the Match: Sonu Yadav 5/30

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