Sanjay, Aparajith help Nellai notch up easy win

CHENNAI: All-round shows by Sanjay Yadav (4-1-18-1; 41 n.o., 3x4, 3x6) and Baba Aparajith --- 2 for 23 with the ball followed by a knock of 38 --- helped Nellai Royal Kings beat Salem Spartans by eight wickets in their TNPL-5 clash at Chepauk on Thursday. Nellai restricted Salem to 120-8 and then chased it down in 18.3 overs.
A target of 121 didn't cause much trouble for Nellai.Though they lost opener L Suryapprakash (9) in the 6th over of the chase, Aparajith and Pradosh Ranjan Paul (23 n.o., 2x4) added 36 runs for the second wicket before the former departed in the 12th over. Sanjay Yadav then took centre-stage and stitched a 54-run unbroken stand in 39 balls with Pradosh for the third wicket to help Nellai cross the finish line with 9 balls remaining.
A tidy effort by Nellai bowlers saw Salem finishing with a below-par score in the first half of the contest. Medium-pacer Athisayaraj Davidson (2-24), left-arm spinner NS Harish (2-12), Aparajith and Sanjay were spot on with the ball. Barring the third-wicket partnership of 64 runs off 51 balls between Vijay Shankar (41, 2x4, 2x6) and Abishiek Selvakumar (25, 2x4), there was very little to write about in the Salem batting. Once that 51-ball partnership was broken in the 12th over, Salem's innings failed to get the momentum in the final overs. From 69-3 at the time of Abishiek's dismissal, Salem managed to add just 51 runs in the last eight overs for the loss of five wickets.
Salem suffered a blow before the game when their captain Daryl Ferrario was ruled out due to a twisted ankle. KH Gopinath stepped in his place.
Brief scores: Salem Spartans 120-8 in 20 overs (Vijay Shankar 41; Harish 2-12, Aparajith 2-23, Athisayaraj Davidson 2-24). Nellai Royal Kings 121-2 in 18.3 overs (B Aparajith 38, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 23 n.o., Sanjay Yadav 41 n.o.). Nellai won by 8 wkts