Despite posting a competitive 182/7 on the board, Salem Spartans were unable to defend the total as their search for a first win of the season goes on. That's all from this encounter. You can now switch tabs to follow the evening game, where the coverage has already begun with Team CREX. For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off along with scorer/analyst Ashok Dayma. BYE BYE👋
Player of the Match: Narayan Jagadeesan
6:40 PM IST & Local Time: A commanding display from Chepauk Super Gillies as they chased down the target with ease, securing a five-wicket victory with 20 balls to spare. While, Salem Spartans' wait for their first win of the season continues.
Earlier in the day, Chepauk Super Gillies won the toss and elected to bowl first and Salem Spartans endured a shaky start with both openers falling inside the powerplay. Rajendran Vivek and Boopathi Kumar steadied the innings with a 37-run stand for the third wicket as the Spartans reached 60/2 at the end of six overs. However, the Gillies struck back through M Silambarasan and Prem Kumar, reducing Salem to 80/5 shortly after the halfway mark.
Just when the innings appeared to be losing direction, Harish Kumar and Eshwar M produced a superb counterattack, adding a crucial 68 runs for the seventh wicket. Eshwar played a sparkling knock of 39 off 20 balls before falling in the 19th over, while Harish remained unbeaten and took complete control at the death. He hammered four sixes in the final over as Salem Spartans smashed 90 runs in the last six overs to finish with a competitive score of 182/7 from their 20 overs.
In reply, Chepauk Super Gillies suffered a couple of early blows as Mokit Hariharan and K Aashiq departed cheaply. However, Narayan Jagadeesan came out all guns blazing and along with R Arvindh (26 off 16), launched a fierce counterattack. The duo ensured the Super Gillies raced to 71/2 at the end of the powerplay, with Jagadeesan finding boundaries at will and putting the bowlers under immense pressure.
The Super Gillies skipper brought up a scintillating half-century off just 22 balls and continued his aggressive approach. He then shared a crucial 35-run partnership with Swapnil Singh for the fourth wicket, a stand that firmly swung the game in favour of the Super Gillies. Jagadeesan eventually fell for a superb 78 off 39 balls, but by then he had laid the perfect platform for the chase.
Swapnil Singh carried on the good work and looked set to finish the contest in style while also eyeing a half-century. However, he was dismissed for a valuable 45 off 26 balls. Mohana Prasath chipped in with an unbeaten 16 off 9 deliveries as Chepauk Super Gillies comfortably chased down the target, sealing a five-wicket victory with 20 balls to spare.