Baba Aparajith shines with bat as Nellai make it 5-in-a-row

CHENNAI: Baba Aparajith (63, 6x4, 2x6) led the show with the bat to help Nellai Royal Kings beat Tiruppur Tamizhans by 6 wickets in their TNPL-6 clash at Coimbatore on Sunday. Aparajith’s 46-ball knock paved the way for Nellai to chase down Tiruppur’s modest target of 118 with 27 balls to spare. The win was Nellai’s fifth in-a-row as the B Indrajith-led side remain unbeaten in the competition.
Nellai lost opener NS Harish (7) early before opener L Suryapprakash (28) and Aparajith put the team’s chase on track with their 77-run partnership for the 2nd wicket.Aparajith was his fluent self and kept the scoreboard ticking with shots all-round the wicket. Once Suryapprakash departed, Aparajith marched on adding 9 and 16 runs for the third and fourth wicket stands with Sanjay Yadav (7) and Indrajith respectively. Aparajith was dismissed in the first ball of the 16th over, and Indrajith (5 n.o.) teamed up with G Ajitesh (10 n.o.) to cross the finish line in the next two deliveries.
For Tiruppur, medium-pacers M Mohammed (2-29) and Aswin Crist (2-31) were the pick of the lot.
In the first half, Nellai restricted Tiruppur to 117-8 thanks the efforts of medium-pacer K Easwaran (3-11) and left-arm spinner NS Harish (2-24). The two kept the pressure on Tiruppur batsmen with their lines and lengths. Maan K Bafna was the only batsman who top-scored with a 35-ball 37.
Kovai have it easy: K
ovai Kings registered a comfortable five-wicket win over Ruby Trichy Warriors on Sunday. Batting first, Trichy rode Murali Vijay’s top knock of 61 to finish on 135. In reply, Kovai score 138-5 and crossed the finish line with three overs to spare. Ganga Sridhar Raju (27) and Sai Sudharsan (27) were the main contributors for the winners.Brief scores: Tiruppur Tamizhans 117-8 in 20 overs (Maan Bafna 37, Easwaran 3-11, Harish 2-24). Nellai Royal Kings 121-4 in 15.3 overs (B Aparajith 63, L Suryapprakash 28). Nellai won by 6 wickets
Brief scores: Ruby Trichy Warriors 135 in 19.3 overs (M Vijay 61; A Tanwar 3-19). Lyca Kovai Kings 138-5 in 17 overs (GS Raju 27, Sai Sudharsan 27). Kovai won by 5 wickets.