TNPL-4: Madurai Panthers eliminate Kanchi Veerans

CHENNAI: Madurai Panthers knocked out VB Kanchi Veerans by 5 wickets in the TNPL-4 eliminator at the ICL ground in Tirunelveli on Sunday. Sanjay Yadav's 52-ball 77 helped Kanchi finish with 151-6 but they failed to defend that total.
Arun Karthick (64, 7x4, 2x6) kept Madurai in the chase with his 39-ball knock before the sixth-wicket stand of 31 runs between allrounder J Kousik (26 n.o., 2x4, 1x6) and Abhishek Tanwar (15 n.o., 1x4, 1x6) helped the defending champions conclude the contest in the final ball.Madurai will take on Dindigul Dragons in the second qualifier in Dindigul on Tuesday.
In pursuit of 152, Arun and Shijit Chandran's (21) 52-run stand for the second wicket helped Madurai stay in the chase in the first 10 overs of their innings. The dismissals of Arun and Shijit saw Kanchi make a comeback but the Kousik-Abhishek pair held their nerve to wrap things up.
Earlier, Sanjay's innings was instrumental in Kanchi finishing with a fighting total. In the company of Mokit Hariharan (25), Sanjay added 76 for the sixth wicket that helped Kanchi score 101 in the last 10 overs. Sanjay walked in at the fall of K Vishal Vaidhya (4, 1x4) in the opening over.
Despite losing S Lokeshwar (0) and Aparajith (13, 2x4) cheaply, Sanjay looked in good touch. Sanjay scored run-a-ball 23 before shifting gears in the 13th over bowled by left-arm spinner Rahil Shah (2-48).
That over saw Sanjay hit a six over mid-wicket followed by a four in the fine-leg region. At 60 for 5 in the 11th over, the Sanjay-Mokit pair took centre-stage. Their 51-ball partnership ensured Kanchi had a fighting total on board which proved enough in the end.
For Madurai, medium-pacer Abhishek Tanwar (2-32) and Rahil (2-48) were the leading wicket-takers.
Brief scores: VB Kanchi Veerans 151-6 in 20 overs (Sanjay Yadav 77 n.o.; Abhishek 2-32). Siechem Madurai Panthers 152-5 in 20 overs (Arun Karthick 64). Madurai won by 5 wickets