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And that'll be all from this contest. Worth the wait indeed and it's the Nellai Royal Kings who've completed a hat-trick of victories. It's been a pleasure bringing the coverage of this contest to you and we can't thank you enough for your patience along the way. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for much more cricketing news and action from around the globe though. For now, this is the duo of Pratyush Rohra and Sooryanarayanan Sesha once again reminding you to mask up and get vaccinated in case you haven't already. Buh-bye and take care!
Baba Indrajith (Winning Captain): Definitely a good performance. Once again, we came back well from a tough situation in the Powerplay. Vishal Vaidhya and Hari Nishaanth batted really well for them but from there to pull it back and keep them down to 130 in a 12-over game was great. We knew that if a couple of batters get off to a good start we could chase it down. I always tell my bowlers that even if it's a 16 or 17-run over, if we pick up a couple of wickets we can come back into the game. Definitely a lot of areas to improve on. We want to improve in all three departments but we're doing well in crunch situations. Special mention to Harish and Shajahan on that catch. Definitely will take three in three but we want to focus on the process and that's what we mentioned at the start of the tournament.
Sanjay Yadav (who else!) is the Player of the Match for his spectacular assault of 55* off 19 deliveries: Today I thought if I stay until the end I knew I could finish the game. I was confident. I knew I should stay till the end. At the start, a lot of runs went in the Powerplay but we had a chat and came back well. We knew that we could chase 130 and we needed just one boundary in every over to get 10 per over. We all bowled well too - Apar, myself, everyone. (On the dream start) It's a teamwork. We've practiced well but in every match we have a different game-changer. We'll look to keep going the same way.
Hari Nishaanth: A little frustrated but that can happen in T20 games. It's about the little moments. Bowlers do get hit in this format but I thought we were short by 15-20 runs. The catching part has been an issue for us this year. This tournament goes pretty fast so we have to dust ourselves off and do well. (Was the catch crucial) Even after that catch, we were in the game. (On what they need to do to bounce back) We have to be on our toes and proactive. The boys have to get together and not be frustrated. We are a very good unit and really positive for the upcoming games.
Nellai Royal Kings 133/2 (11) beat Dindigul Dragons 130/5 (12) by 8 wickets. Baba Aparajith 59* (30) | Sanjay Yadav 55* (19) | Lakshminarayanan Vignesh 1/11 (2) K Vishal Vaidhya 45 (21) | Hari Nishaanth 37 (27) | Sri Neranjan 3/32 (3)
Andddddd breathe! Phew! That. Was. Something. Spectacular. We're out of words to describe that carnage. Much like the first innings which was a tale of two halves, this was along similar lines and it was the second half where the Kings dominated big time to get across the finish line.
The Dragons' bowling unit started with an excellent display in the Powerplay. Lakshminarayanan Vignesh and M Silambarasan were difficult to put away and with a couple of wickets falling as a result of the asking rate mounting, the Kings had their backs to the wall.
But then, they simply flicked a switch. From 36/2 in 5 overs, Sanjay Yadav and Baba Aparajith smashed the living daylights out of the Dragons bowling outfit. R Vivek's 22-run over gave them the momentum they were after and soon after, Sanjay Yadav latched onto Monish Satish like a cheap suit. Four consecutive sixes later, the equation was well and truly within control for the Kings.
A 16-ball half-century - the joint-fastest in the TNPL alongside Washington Sundar - is what Sanjay Yadav blasted. That he played just the solitary dot delivery is a testament to the sheer quality of the knock, aside from all the madness. Much the same with Aparajith, who raced to a half-century of his own before he sealed it in style with a boundary. That's three in a row now for the Kings and they've made a statement and some for the rest of the competition to take note of.
GAME SET AND MATCH! Who needs 12 overs to gun down 131, eh? It's another Royal performance from Nellai and won't they be a happy lot! Nellai Royal Kings beat Dindigul Dragons by 8 wickets with an over to spare!
11
overs
133/2score
1
1
1
6
0
4
runs
Baba Aparajith*
59(30)
Sanjay Yadav
55(19)
M Silambarasan
0/25
10.6 M Silambarasan to Baba Aparajith, FOUR! APARAJITH FINISHES IT OFF WITH AN OVER TO SPARE! Sliding in from a shortish length, giving the batter enough time to rock back and pull this into the cow corner boundary to end the proceedings in style. Nellai Royal Kings by 8 wickets and keep their winning run going!
10.5 M Silambarasan to Baba Aparajith, low full toss outside the off-stump, Aparajith steps out to drive it to extra cover, no run
And that's a half-century for Baba Aparajith as well! Just 4 dots through his innings and just the solitary dot played by Sanjay Yadav. You can see where they've won this game alright!