Dindigul Dragons, on Thursday, pulled off a four-wicket win against Chepauk Super Gillies in the Eliminator tie of the 2024 edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). Opting to bowl first, the Dragons restricted Chepauk to 158 for six after captain Baba Aparajith's 54-ball 72. In response, Dindigul skipper Ashwin and Shivam Singh stitched a 112-run stand for the second wicket, but lost a flurry of wickets in the final few overs. Dindigul eventually survived a thriller after a few fielding errors from the Super Gillies.
The match could have ended a lot earlier for the home team at the NPR College Ground, especially after Ashwin and Shivam revived Dindigul following the dismissal of opener Vimal Khumar in the second over of the chase. Ashwin, who pushed himself up the order after going wicketless with the ball, notched up his fifty in just 27 balls, and Shivam, too, brought up his half-century shortly after as the pair reduced the equation to 45 needed off 42 balls.
However, Dindigul lost control of the momentum after the dismissal of Ashwin and Baba Indrajith in successive deliveries in the 14th over, before Prem Kumar, who dismissed the former, returned in his next over to pick up yet another wicket. Dindigul, hence lost four wickets in a space of just 18 balls for only runs runs, which left the equation to 20 required off 21 balls.
It was during this collapse when Ashwin seemed visibly frustrated in the dugout. In the 17th over, when Sharath Kumar survived a dismissal scare after the fielder put down a dolly at deep midwicket, Ashwin was seen seething with anger as he gestured aggressively at the batter while hurling a mouthful. The video of Ashwin's reaction from the dugout sent shockwaves on social media.
{{/usCountry}}It was during this collapse when Ashwin seemed visibly frustrated in the dugout. In the 17th over, when Sharath Kumar survived a dismissal scare after the fielder put down a dolly at deep midwicket, Ashwin was seen seething with anger as he gestured aggressively at the batter while hurling a mouthful. The video of Ashwin's reaction from the dugout sent shockwaves on social media.
{{/usCountry}}Although Dindigul lost Shivam in the very next ball, Sarath and Suboth Bhati held their nerves to guide the team to a win on the penultimate ball.
The win helped Dindigul Dragons qualify for the second Qualifier, where they will be up against Dream Tiruppur Tamizhans on Friday at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.
Ashwin, who was adjudged as the Player of the Match, later said in the post-match presentation: "Pressure does these things (on the near collapse), we'll have to have a chat, but the important thing was we closed the game. It was an imperfect game, despite our shoddy bowling and fielding, we kept them down to a low score."