Dindigul: Ruby Trichy Warriors coasted to a seven-wicket win over Jones Tuti Patriots at the NPR College ground in Natham (Dindigul) on Wednesday to keep their hopes alive of making it to the playoffs.
Chasing 158 for victory, Warriors openers Bharath Shankar 51 (39b,7×4,1×6) and Mani Bharathi 26 (20b,3×4,1×6) began aggressively by scoring 38 runs in the first three overs and kept accumulating runs at a steady rate thereafter.
The star-studded Patriots bowling line-up tried to mount pressure on Warriors batsmen by not giving away easy runs but Baba Indrajith n.o. 50 (32b,2×4,3×6) and C Ganapathy n.o. 27 (21b,2×4) attacked in the end overs to clinch an important win.
The win helps Warriors catch up with Lyca Kovai Kings and Tuti Patriots. All the three teams have won three and lost three matches so far and will need to win their last game for a chance to make the top-four.
Opting to bat, Patriots opener S Dinesh 30 (18b,3×4,1×6) and wicket-keeper S Anand 23 (22b, 4×4) stitched a 50-run stand in 32 balls for the second wicket. Trichy Warriors then removed both the set batsmen to storm back in the match.
S Abishiek 30 (27b,2×6) and debutant Nidhish Rajagopal 41 (26b,1×4,3×6) added 73 runs in 46 balls for the fourth wicket to stabilize the innings. Both were dismissed in a space of four balls as the Patriots were derailed once again. Warriors eventually managed to restrict Patriots to 157/7 in 20 overs.
âWe felt we fell 10-15 runs short in the end after making 50 after six overs. Our boys played well in the middle overs but in the end overs we didn\92t get enough big hits largely because the opposition bowled well. On this wicket it was a below-par score. Had we grabbed a few early wickets it would have been a good total but they consolidated their position,â said Tuti opener S Dinesh.
âTonight we kept things simple. We are following our set processes and are trying to execute our plans. Tonight we implemented the basics correctly and kept calm. The bowlers also did a fabulous job. Sonu Yadav and Tamil Kumaran bowled really well,â said Bharat Shankar of Trichy Warriors.
GANESH MOORTHY FINED
After the game between Ruby Trichy Warriors and Jones Tuti Patriots at the NPR College ground in Natham (Dindigul), the match referee reprimanded Ruby Trichy Warriors for slow over rate (of one over) that resulted in their captain B Indrajith copping a fine of 10 per cent of his match fee and the rest of the team members five per cent of their match fee.
Meanwhile, Tuti Patriots player M Ganesh Moorthy was charged with level 1 offense under 2.1.4 of the Code of Conduct for Players and Team Officials for using language or gestures that is obscene, offensive or insulting during the match on receiving reports from the Umpires and was fined 10 per cent of his match fee.