A thoroughly dominant performance from the Nellai Royal Kings as they register a convincing victory and collect two valuable points. That brings an end to our coverage of this TNPL Season 10 double-header. For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off alongside my scorer Zeeshan Naiyer. BYE BYE👋
R Sonu Yadav (Nellai Royal Kings Captain): "[On his and Adnan Khan's cameos] Actually, when we went in, we had the plan to hit at least 5 sixes if we got to play 20 balls. We executed it, and that was the success.
[On the finishing and how did they do?] We have been trying to do it since the last couple of seasons. We couldn't execute it properly then as we were getting out in the middle. Adnan also knows that. We knew there was a short boundary and we had to hit boundaries. We wanted to hit at least 1 or 2 sixes per over. We also knew that there would be one or two big overs.
[We may have spoken multiple times. But as a captain, it is the first time. How is the feeling?] It is a great responsibility. I am happier now."
NS Harish (POTM): "[What was going on your mind before bowling his first ball?] When I went to bat, I had already started to plan my bowling. This wicket had a decent bounce.
[Brilliant performance but dull voice?] Just too tired, mate
[Varying the pace was a pre-plan or was it depending on what the batters were doing?] It was a conscious plan. I saw the first game of the day, and I also went to bat earlier. During that time, I also discussed it a bit with the team. Just executed the plan.
[Cameos from the captain Sonu Yadav and Adnan Khan gave you the confidence?] Yeah, definitely; those 30 runs do make an impact at the end. You were looking at 180-190. So, they made a big difference in the end.
[On the team environment and about his family watching the game back home with him welcoming a newcomer] (Answers in the native local language with a low voice)."
Player of the Match: NS Harish
Dependable Player of the Match: S R Athish
Highest Strike Rate of the Match: Ashwanth Valthapa
Maximum Fours of the Match: R Sonu Yadav
Narayan Jagadeesan (Chepauk Super Gillies Captain): "(Where did it go wrong?) I feel the wicket was still good for batting. I feel our execution and the way we bowled could've been better. At the same time, it's only the beginning of the tournament. So, it tends to happen. So, for it to happen, it is better to happen at the beginning rather than at the end.
(On having so many youngsters in the side) It's a very exciting thing, to be honest, you know. Something which I am really proud of is the way we have played the game. Though we lost the game, the intent that we showed, and the ability to hit sixes, was phenomenal. The fearlessness that we have in the team is really good. You never know; the game was far away. We needed just 58 runs in the last 5 overs despite losing so many wickets. I feel there are a lot of positives.
(Anything to work on?) I think as a whole, we need to work on everything (chuckles)."
10:42 PM IST & Local Time: That's it! A complete all-round display from the Nellai Royal Kings as they outplayed Chepauk Super Gillies in all three departments. NRK eventually seal a convincing 50-run victory.
Earlier in the day, Chepauk Super Gillies won the toss and chose to field first, making the perfect start when Abhishek Tanwar removed Santosh Duraisamy for 7 in the opening over. Nellai Royal Kings recovered brilliantly through G Ajitesh and Athish, who added 58 runs and powered their side to 62/1 at the end of the powerplay.