TNPL 2016: Veerans, Patriots aim to win Dindigul slugfest!
In what may prove to be another enterprising game of the India Cements TN Premier League, Albert Tuti Patriots will take on VB Thiruvallur Veerans at the NPR College Ground at Dindigul on Wednesday.
While the Veerans have played on this venue before, it will be a first for the Patriots. It may be noted that the Patriots are coming off two close losses and will be itching to turn things around.
But then it is batting which has been their bane so far!
Even the inclusion of skipper Abhinav Mukund has not helped their cause. Patriots, who scored 120 and 103 in their last two games, will definitely aim to improve their fortunes with the bat in this contest. The ground at Natham has been witness to high-scoring games and Patriots will need to get a good score on board if the bowlers are to make a game of it.
The top-order, which includes Kaushik Gandhi, Washington Sundar, and Mukund, need to hit form, in order to wrest back the winning momentum. Patriots will miss Dinesh Karthik, who had fired the team to an impressive win in the opener.
Bowling is a plus point, though, as they have been successful in limiting opponents to scores of 111 and 120 in the last two games.
But, then, will their batting click?
The Veerans, on the other hand, are in superb form, as is evident by their standing in the points table. They won the first two games, and despite losing the plot against Dindigul Dragons in the third, they bounced back with a massive win against Ruby Kanchi Warriors.
Skipper Baba Aparajith is in red-hot form as he also scored the first century of the tournament at this venue.
The bowling seems to be peaking at the right time for Veerans. It may be noted that R Rohit and Samuel, who were the heroes in the last game against Warriors, have performed beyond expectations.
Rahil Shah and Malolan Rangarajan have been good so far. Fielding is one area which may help them make a definite impact in this match as well. Veerans are an all-round team who are definitely the ones to beat!
Key battles: It is clearly a contest between Patriots’ bowling and Veerans’ batting. Baba Aparajith, NS Chaturved and Sanjay Yadav have been in good form and Malolan Rangarajan has scored vital runs down the order as well.
The Patriots’ bowling has restricted opponents to scores below 120, which will make it an exciting gameo behold!