CHENNAI: Spinners came to the fore for Tiruppur Tamizhans as they beat Salem Spartans by 32 runs in their TNPL-6 clash in Coimbatore on Wednesday. Left-arm spinners Mohan Prasath (3-11), S Aravind (2-12) and leg-spinner S Manigandan (1-20) played a key role in Salem defending a target of 136.
Chasing a modest total, Salem’s top-order failed to get going. While medium-pacer M Mohammed (2-31) got the first breakthrough, dismissing opener H Gopinath (5) in the second over, Tiruppur’s spinners did the bulk of the damage.
The slow-ball trio -- Aravind, Prasath and Manigandan -- were spot on with their lines and lengths and left Salem in trouble at 46 for 4 in the 11th over. Salem’s No. 6 R Karthikeyan gave the side a glimmer of hope with his 25-ball 36 but once he was dismissed in the 18th over -- their chase ended soon.
In the first half of play, Tiruppur finished with a modest total of 135-5. They got off to a terrific start with openers S Anirudha (32) and S Aravind (25) adding 57 for the opening wicket in 8 overs. The match was stopped briefly in the middle of the 7th over due to rain.
The brief break helped Salem to hit back thanks to their slow-ball bowlers -- Daryl Ferrario (2-21) and R Karthikeyan (1-22). While Ferrario accounted for Anirudha, Karthikeyan dismissed Aravind.
Tiruppur’s No. 4 Maan Bafna scored a run-a-ball 29 but failed to get those big shots during the death overs. Apart from Ferrario and Karthikeyan, medium-pacers G Periyaswamy (1-28) and G Kishoor (1-34) too were among the wicket-takers.
Brief scores: Tiruppur Tamizhans 135-5 in 20 overs (S Anirudha 32, Maan Bafna 29*; Ferrario 2-21, R Karthikeyan 1-22) VS Salem Spartans 103 in 19.2 overs (R Karthikeyan 36; Mohan Prasath 3-11, M Mohammed 2-31, S Aravind 2-12).
Tiruppur won by 32 runs.
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