SALEM: Nellai Royal Kings held its nerve to earn a three-wicket win over SKM Salem Spartans in the final league match of TNPL at Salem Cricket Foundation Ground here on Thursday. Set to chase 142, Royal Kings got there with seven balls to spare. This is Royal Kingsā second win and takes it to the top of the table with 4 points.
Opting to bowl first, Nellai Royal Kings got off to a strong start with the ball by dismissing both openers within the powerplay. Emmanuel Cherian displayed quick reflexes off his bowling to Abishiek, while Sonu Yadav dismissed both in-form batters, Kavin and Vivek Raj, in successive overs.
Sonu Yadav, in particular, stood out with the ball initially. He 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. The all-rounder also was outstanding in the field, taking three catches.
After Silambarasan dismissed Robin Bist, the team could not recover from the early collapse. However, cameos from Shijit Chandran scoring 20 of 18 balls and Harish Kumar scoring 17 of 8 balls and the lower-order batters guided SKM Salem Spartans to 141 runs.
The bowlers of Nellai Royal Kings once again delivered a disciplined performance to keep the game under control until the end. Sonu Yadav led the bowling attack with five wickets, while R Silambarasan grabbed two. Emmanuel Cherian, Mohan Prasath, and Harish contributed with one wicket each, effectively restricting Salem to a par score.
Talking about his performance, Sonu Yadav said: āIām happy to contribute to the team. I was keeping things simple, according to the condition. Also, credit to other bowlers for keeping things tight.ā
Brief scores: SKM Salem Spartans 141 in 19.2 overs (Sonu Yadav 5/30) lost to Nellai Royal Kings 144/7 in 18.5 overs (G Ajitesh 45, L Suryaprakash 43*, ME Yazh Arun Mozhi 3/22)