TNPL 2022 Updated Points Table: Bowlers shine as Madurai gets back to winning ways - Updated after Match 13

After a humbling 26-run defeat at the hands of the Nellai Royal Kings in their last match, the Siechem Madurai Panthers were out for blood in match 13 of TNPL 2022 against the Dindigul Dragons on Thursday (July 7th). The game was held at the NPR College Ground in Dindigul. It was a walk in the park for the Panthers as they cruised to a 7-wicket win with 4.3 overs remaining.

As has been the trend, Madurai captain NS Chaturved chose to bowl first after winning the toss. His team came together really well as a unit with excellent bowling and tight fielding.

Pacer Sunny Sandhu started things off with a wicket-maiden, and his new-ball partner Kiran Akash joined in to choke the Dindigul top order. The Dragons could only get to 24/1 in six overs, but runs in the next couple of overs made the game a contest once again. However, some run-outs in successive overs sent both the set batters back to the pavilion.

Dindigul were struggling at 56/3, and Sunny Sandhu's second spell added to their woes. The pacer finished with figures of 3/11 from his four overs, with Dindigul reeling at 77/6 after 14 overs.

KS Mohit Hariharan was the only Dindigul batter to look comfortable at the crease, and he navigated the chaos at the other end to get the team to 122/9, remaining unbeaten on 43 off 31 balls. Three of the nine dismissals were run-outs.

The chase was fairly straightforward for the Madurai Panthers, and they never looked like slipping up at any point in their innings. Last match's centurion Arun Karthick kicked things off with a brisk 31-ball 41, forging a 55-run partnership with No.3 batter Balchander Anirudh. The latter saw the game through, finishing on a 34-ball 51, winning the 'Player of the Match' award in the process.

The Dindigul bowlers didn't pose much of a threat, with only M Silambarasan bowling a tidy spell.

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TNPL 2022 Updated Points Table

The Madurai Panthers thus moved back to second place, courtesy their third win in four matches. The hefty margin of victory also boosted their NRR quite a bit. The same has an inverse effect on the Dindigul Dragons, who move down to the third place. Their NRR, however, is, -0.442.