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And with that, we come to the end of this fixture. Trichy Grand Cholas are on an upward spiral and it does seem like destiny has written something special for them this season. Sunday sees a double header, with Dindigul Dragons taking on Lyca Kovai Kings in the afternoon, followed by the IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans-SKM Salem Spartans clash in the evening. The cricketing action starts from 3.15 pm IST (0945 GMT), but our build-up will begin well in advance. Do join us early then. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

Nellai Royal Kings slip from third to fourth but they are not out of reckoning yet. They have two games left, the first of which, will be against Idream Tiruppur Tamizhans, on Wednesday, 24th July, 2024, at this same venue as well, also a night game, at 7.15 pm IST (1345 GMT). Normally a cool captain, Karthik, he will be calm and aim to bounce back.

Right then. We hoped for a high-scoring encounter and Tirunelveli has not disappointed. The crowd came in large numbers as well, to add to the excitement. Anyone remember that match - Trichy Grand Cholas vs Siechem Madurai Panthers, on 9th July, 2024? Antony Dhas had mentioned at the toss that it would take just 1 win to turn their fortunes around. They had not won a single match for a whole year. And now, they are on the doorstep of qualifying for the playoffs. They meet Chepauk Super Gillies next, on Monday, 22nd July, 2024, at this same venue, in an evening game, which will begin at 7.15 pm IST (1345 GMT).

And now, time for the winning skipper. Victorious Trichy Grand Cholas captain, ANTONY DHAS, says that many players in this team have taken pivotal roles. Cites that first win, against Lyca Kovai Kings this season, as the turning point in their campaign. Calls his team members as very confident, who understand their process, which was evident with the ball and bat, towards the death overs. Is targetting to not just qualify for the final but create history in this edition and not just the captain, but the entire support staff and management and eventually, take the trophy.

Yay! In a match which has seen a run fest, it is a bowler who wins the POTM trophy. SARAVANA KUMAR HAS BEEN NAMED AS THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH, FOR HIS BOWLING FIGURES OF 4-0-30-4. Kumar feels very happy with the win, as almost every game has been a must-win for his side. On the 5-fer eluding him, he believes that it will come one day. Admits that the wind factor is a big one at this Tirunelveli venue, which did cause errors in his line early on, but adds that he corrected those towards the end. Is very happy to see his team jump to second spot and hopes to do well in the remaining games as well.

Nellai Royal Kings captain ARUN KARTHIK, is first up for a chat. Arun says that given the way his team started with the bat, 177 definitely looked very par. Adds that it was a sticky wicket to start. Feels that if his team had bowled a bit better, they could have won. On the dropped catches, he believes because of the wind here, catching is tough at this venue, but admits that the run outs could have been effected. On the pitch, Karthik rates this as a good one for both batters and bowlers, with the grass giving the seamers plenty to work with. On his own dismissal, Arun smiles and says that he got out at the wrong time because had he stayed till the end, Nellai could have posted 190.

... THE PRESENTATION ...

Earlier in the evening, Trichy Grand Cholas were no less gifting, giving a lot of chances to Nellai. From a decent position, they let things drift, thanks to the shift in gears by Arun Karthik. He was on 50 from 41 balls, but finished on 84 from 51 balls. However, there was no support from the other end, barring that from Rithik Easwaran. Had there been one more player to help Karthik, 190 could have been reached. Credit goes for Trichy as well, especially in those last 2 overs, where they took 4 wickets and conceded just 12 runs. Saravana Kumar was the pick of the bowlers, with 4/30 in 4 overs. Will he be the Player Of The Match? Or Arun Karthik? Or someone else? Please stay tuned for the presentation...

Nellai Royal Kings will feel that they let an opportunity go by. They started poorly but then bounced back with 3 quick wickets. However, in those middle overs, they created chances but just could not hang on to those. In a tight game, normally, one spell changes things. For Nellai, it was Ragupathy Silambarasan, who went for 42 runs in 3 overs. That proved to be the difference between the two sides in the end.

Trichy Grand Cholas made good use of the chances given by Nellai Royal Kings and staged 3 back-to-back good partnerships. The good thing in this win was - there was no one central batter. S Shyam Sundar held his own in the middle overs with a fine 31, Jafar Jamal exploded after a slow start, making 39, while Sanjay Yadav ensured that there was no collapse. But the big show came towards the end, with Ravi Rajkumar hammering an unbeaten 31 from 13 balls, with 6 hits to the fence - 3 of those being sixes.

A finely paced run chase by Trichy. The openers, Waseem Ahmed and K Rajkumar set the tone with a 37-run opening stand inside 4 overs, with the second over going for 17 setting the tone. Nellai then came back, picking up three wickets in the span of 3 overs. At that time, the Cholas were looking down and out and gave a few chances. However, Nellai grassed those, giving lifelines to S Shyam Sundar, Jafar Jamal and Sanjay Yadav.

Third win of the season for Trichy Grand Cholas and they zoom up to second spot in the points table! It was not the greatest of matches in terms of quality, with both sides missing opportunities but eventually, Trichy have held their nerves to topple Nellai. They had won just 1 out of their previous 4 encounters against Nellai but 2024's Cholas seem to be a different unit than the ones in the past.

SIX! Done and dusted! Rajkumar wraps up things in style with that brute force! Hariharan induces a fuller-length delivery, on the off stump line, Ravi Rajkumar gets the length right underneath his willow. He smashes it over the bowler's head and downtown for a mammoth six. A good chase aided by a good batting display from Trichy Grand Cholas.

Drama! Hariharan runs into bowl but does not deliver. Apologizes to the batter. Mind games?

Full in length, angling in, Dhas straight bats it towards short mid-wicket and steals a quick single there.

The skipper Antony Dhas walks in at number 8, replacing Sanjay Yadav. Will the captain seal the game himself?

OUT! TAKEN! Undone by the pace. Hariharan flattens the trajectory, and cannons it very quick, on a length. It skids through off the deck around the leg stump line. Sanjay Yadav is hurried into the shot due to that excessive pace and bounce. Hence, he is a bit late into the shot and chips the ball into the leg side. He airs it straight towards the Silambarasan stationed at short fine who doesn't grass it this time around. Sanjay Yadav departs on 23 (16). With 3 needed off 5 deliveries remaining.

OUT! TAKEN! Undone by the pace. Hariharan flattens the trajectory, and cannons it very quick, on a length. It skids through off the deck around the leg stump line. Sanjay Yadav is hurried into the shot due to that excessive pace and bounce. Hence, he is a bit late into the shot and chips the ball into the leg side. He airs it straight towards the Silambarasan stationed at short fine who doesn't grass it this time around. Sanjay Yadav departs on 23 (16). With 3 needed off 5 deliveries remaining.