Siechem Madurai Panthers vs Trichy Grand Cholas Match 7 Match Commentary: Tamil Nadu Premier League, 2024

10.49pm  Right then. A pretty one-sided contest in the end from Salem. We expected much more, but perhaps, we could get some come Wednesday, 10th July, 2024, when the Chepauk Super Gillies take on IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans - number 6 vs number 8 - nothing to lose, so let the firecrackers loose! The first ball will be bowled at 7.15 pm IST (1345 GMT), but our buildup will begin much earlier. Do tune in, in advance. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

10.49pm  As far as Madurai are concerned, it is just one loss, but they need to learn to manouver their resources better. Like bowling 8 options was not a great idea while their batters need to master the conditions better. They play next on Saturday, 13th July, 2024, against IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans, in an afternoon game.

10.48pm  Plenty of smiles in the Trichy camp, getting a win after a couple of years. The manner of victory has lifted them from 7th to second in the points table and as their captain said at the toss, it is a matter of one win to boost the confidence. They have a 4-day break before coming back on 14th to take on SKM Salem Spartans in Coimbatore in the afternoon game.

10.47pm  Victorious Trichy Grand Cholas captain, Antony Dhas, calls this an outstanding victory. Admits that to wait for 2 years for this win was very painful. Takes a minute to compose himself. On this win, credits his coach and team management for preparing well. Adds that it was painful to see the fans' reactions on social media but credits his team for keeping that aside and concentrating on practicing well. Calls this as the first of their many wins this season. Praises Waseem Ahmed and Sanjay Yadav for their outstanding partnership, taking them to 190-plus and believes that it was a team effort with the ball, silently crediting himself for utilizing the bowling options well.

10.45pm  WASEEM AHMED HAS BEEN ADJUDGED THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH. Says that he rushed off in the previous match but in this one, his coaches advised him to take his time which helped him. Adds that the batters just focused on partnerships, albeit slowly, but there was belief that they could make it up in the end with the hitters to come through.

10.45pm  Siechem Madurai Panthers skipper, Hari Nishaanth, says that it was not his team's day. Believes that his bowlers could have bowled better lines and also admits that he overused his spinners. Still, feels that 194 could have been chased down but the wicket perhaps played a bit differently. Adds that maybe, they could have lost fewer wickets in the Powerplay, but should have still chased this down. Admits that some bowlers like Swapnil Singh got underbowled as 8 bowling options were used but adds that because the spinners were doing well early on, he felt like using all of his available options.

10.43pm  Earlier in the innings, we saw how Trichy Grand Cholas were teetering on 67/2 at the end of 9 overs but some extraordinary batting from Waseem Ahmed and Sanjay Yadav allowed them to post a humongous total on the scoreboard which the opposition could not breach down. Waseem Ahmed fell short of his century by just 10 runs here, but the way he was getting runs for himself, helped the team tremendously. Even Sanjay Yadav came out all guns blazing and was vital in taking the game away from the opposition with his unbeaten knock of 60 runs off just 33 deliveries. Although, Siechem Madurai Panthers could not turn with the ball in hand. Gurjapneet Singh provided them with that early breakthrough, but the rest of the pack just could not apply any consistent pressure.

10.42pm  On the other hand, it was a complete team performance by Trichy Grand Cholas with the ball in hand. They knew that the approach from the opposition is going to be hammer and tonks in the initial overs to try and make it easier for them to climb this tall mountain, although some great bowling never let the batters off the hook. Sanjay Yadav who was instrumental with the bat in hand, put his hand up even when it came to bowling and picked up three crucial wickets, while Ravi Rajkumar was outstanding at the death. He kept things very tight and chipped in with three wickets as well. V Athisayaraj Davidson did really well with the new ball and picked up a brace, while Saravana Kumar and Easwaran K ended the game with one wicket to their names.

10.41pm  It was always going to be difficult for Siechem Madurai Panthers to chase down 194 runs in 20 overs. They surely had a mountain to climb, but the intent shown at the early stage was an ideal one. Hari Nishaanth set the tone really well up top. He kept hitting the ball hard, find the gaps, gunning down the boundaries, but he could not really find any able partner from the other end. Despite, Madurai losing 3 wickets inside the Powerplay, they never really took a hit on the run-rate. Although, there were no batters who stitched a solid stand in the middle phase which did not really allow them to crawl back in this run chase. Hari Nishaanth was the one who stood out with the bat in hand, other than him only three batters were able to get into double digits but no one could get over 20 runs. That tells you the story of this run chase.

10.34pm  GAME.SET.MATCH! Trichy Grand Cholas record their first win in the Tamil Nadu Premier League after almost two years. Their previous win came on 21st July 2022, uff, that is a long, long wait. A valuable win here for Trichy, and a well-deserved one as well. They open their account in the 2024 season. Siechem Madurai Panthers started the run chase well, in terms of runs, but in reality their innings lacked partnerships which is truly the difference between the two sides here.

OUT! Caught behind! TRICHY END THEIR 9-GAME WINLESS RUT! And it has been ended by some dominant fashion. On a good length, outside off, Gurjapneet Singh swings hard but can only get a thick outside edge behind, which is snaffled by Waseem Ahmed. TRICHY GRAND CHOLAS WIN BY 67 RUNS!
Gurjapneet Singh c W Ahmed b E K 2 (4b 0x4 0x6)