5 best bowling performances of TNPL 2024 ft. Murugan Ashwin
The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2024 concluded on Sunday (August 4), with Dindigul Dragons emerging as the champions at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. They beat Lyca Kovai Kings by six wickets to win their maiden TNPL title.
Batting first, the Kovai Kings posted a respectable total of 129/7 on the board, with Ram Arvindh (27) as the top contributor. Then, the Dragons sealed the chase with 10 balls to spare, riding on skipper Ravichandran Ashwin's impressive knock of 52.
Over the last month, there have been superlative performances from the players of both departments. Let's take a look at the five finest bowling performances in the recently concluded TNPL season.
#5 Murugan Ashwin - 4/21
Experienced spinner Murugan Ashwin ranks fifth on this list due to his impressive performance for Siechem Madurai Panthers against IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans on July 13. The Panthers chose to bat and managed to score 156/9 in their allotted 20 overs, with Uthirasamy Sasidev (41) as the top-scorer.
In response, the Tamizhans lost their first two wickets early but got support from the partnership of Amit Sathvik and Balchander Anirudh. However, Ashwin broke their 51-run stand by breaching the defense of Sathvik.
Although, the 33-year-old went on to dismiss Anirudh and other two batters and finish with fantastic figures of 4/21, the opposition sealed the chase with 10 balls to spare.
#4 Ajay K Krishna - 4/20
In the 22nd game of TNPL 2024, Lyca Kovai Kings were up against Siechem Madurai Panthers. The Kings were off to a good start with 80+ runs in 11 overs. This is when Ajay K Krishna broke the team's momentum by bowling out U Mukilesh.
The right-arm pacer returned in the 19th over and took three wickets to deny the Kings a strong finish. He registered figures of 4/20 in four overs.
Nevertheless, with a fifty from Shahrukh Khan and hefty contributions from others, the Kings managed to compile a score of 161. Thereafter, the Panthers were bundled out for 120 and lost by 43 runs.
#3 K Gowtham Thamarai - 4/20
In the aforementioned game, the Kings brought K Gowtham Thamarai in the first over, and the pacer took an important scalp of opposition captain, Hari Nishanth, in the fourth ball itself.
Thamarai continued his brilliant performance by picking up wickets at crucial junctures and finishing with figures of 4/20. His heroics paved the way for the Kings to progress through to the playoffs.
#2 Sonu Yadav - 5/30
The ninth game of the season saw Sonu Yadav emerging as the Player of the Match for his terrific figures of 5/30, which helped Nellai Royal Kings win the game comfortably against SKM Salem Spartans.
Coming to bowl in the fifth over, Yadav struck in his fourth ball to get rid of Kavin. In the eight over, he breached the defense of Vivek. In the death overs, he maintained his rhythm to take wickets off his bouncers and yorkers. As a result, the Spartans were bundled out for 141.
Then, Guruswamy Ajitesh (45) top-scored for the Royal Kings as they chased down the score in the penultimate over.
#1 K Easwaran - 6/32
The finest bowling performance of this tournament came in a losing cause. In the second game, Dindigul Dragons locked horns with K Easwaran's Trichy Grand Cholas on July 6 in Salem.
In his first over, Easwaran sent back Ravichandran Ashwin before picking up the wicket of Vimal Khumar in his next over. Although, the Dragons were back on track with the partnership of Shivam Singh and Baba Indrajith, the right-arm pacer dismissed the former in the 17th over. He took the wickets of S Dinesh Raj and Sarath Kumar in the last two balls of the same over to stun the Dragons outfit.
Easwaran came back in the 19th over and deceived G Kishoor with a slower ball to complete his hat-trick. He finished with sensational figures of 6/32 off four overs, as the Dragons posted 160 on the board.
However, the Cholas managed to score 144/8 at the end of 20 overs and fell short by 16 runs.