DD vs NRK

That brings us to the end of our coverage of the Tamil Nadu Premier League for today. One more match remains in the tournament - Lyca Kovai Kings and Nellai Royal Kings will go up against each other for the coveted trophy on Wednesday! Keep an eye on our tabs for our coverage of the same, and keep following Sportskeeda for plenty, plenty more! This is Rajarshi, signing off on behalf of Karthik Raj. Good night - see you tomorrow!

Arun Karthik (Nellai Royal Kings skipper): Credit to Dindigul Dragons. They batted superbly and finished superbly. Thought 165 was par but they scored more than that. (Decision to retire out Nidhish Rajagopal) Wasn't difficult, we practised that too during our pre-season sessions. We made a tactical move and it worked. Had plenty of confidence in Ajitesh and Rithik. Practiced a lot during pre-season with scenarios. (Why he always stands near the refrigerator) Stood there due to astrology. 

Baba Indrajith (Dindigul Dragons skipper): Game was there in our hands till the last two overs. Two overs, 40 runs. Most of the time it is difficult for the batting side. Wanted to take the game deep. Thought maybe we were 8-10 runs short. Got Arun Karthik's wicket in the Powerplay which was massive. There are a lot of youngsters. Ashwin said during the auction itself that there are youngsters who will step up. When they get regular opportunities, helps them to perform. (About Kishoor's expensive over) Bad experience but you will learn from that. Even big-name bowlers have suffered from that.

G Ajitesh, Player of the Match: Very emotional. Not looking too ahead, want to do well in the final. Knew that if we took it deep, there is Rithik, there is Sonu. So, had belief. He has been working very hard. Seen him practice everyday. Was a matter of time before he played such a knock. Had a plan to not give wickets to Varun. However, wanted to avoid dot balls too

Rithik Easwaran: Thank you first of all. Happy to go into the final. Think there will be a good party tonight. Just felt we had to take on the bowler with the shorter side, had no choice. Just had to use brain over brawn. It has been team effort. Every match, someone has stepped up. (About his terrific catch in the first innings) It was just an instinctive moment!

Match summary:

Nellai Royal Kings win by 7 wickets off the last ball of the match

Ajitesh Guruswamy 73*(44) | Rithik Easwaran 39*(11)
Vinod Varun Chakaravarthy 1/26 (4) | Raju Aushik Srinivas 1/31 (4)

While all the spotlight on the young Ajitesh Guruswamy and for the right reasons, it was the other wicket keeper, Rithik Easwaran, who made the stage his own and dragged his team to the summit clash of the 2023 TNPL! The left-handed keeper, replacing another left-hander in Rajagopal, wasn't quite able to get it off the meat right away, but once he started to, there was simply no stopping him!

It wasn't just agricultural slogging across the line from the NRK keeper. Easwaran was seeing the ball like a football, assessed the line and pace of it to perfection, and looked to use the entire field. Mind you, he had come in at an extremely tough time, when the chips were down for the Royal Kings. While Ajitesh Guruswamy was finding the occasional boundary and keeping the run rate afloat, his partner, Nidhish Rajagopal, was stuck at the other end against the tricky Dragons attack. 

Although Easwaran stole the show in the end, there would have been no show without Ajitesh Guruswamy. After the Nellai Royal Kings openers, Arun Karthik and P Sugendhiran departed having gotten their team off to a steady start, Ajitesh had to take the mantle of keeping the onslaught going, and he did for a while. Yet again, he showcased his talent with the bat, using his full array of strokes, and looked to stitch a meaningful partnership with Nidhish Rajagopal.

The Dindigul Dragons, though, managed to pull things back as the death overs drew closer, mainly thanks to their spinners. Varun Chakaravarthy and Aushik Srinivas gave very little to the batters to go after, choked the runs in a big way, and had it not been for the occasional boundaries, NRK would have been well and truly out of the hunt long ago. Rajagopal was just not able to score freely, and eventually, had to retired out.

That move proved to be a masterstroke. Easwaran couldn't middle his first two deliveries, but as it turned out, they might have been two dot balls for the Dindigul Dragons, but they were nothing more than sighters for the left-handed hero of the night! Easwaran went on to score all 39 of his runs in the next 9 deliveries that he faced, and although Subodh Bhati used all his experience with the ball and took the game to the last ball, he dished out a leg-stump full toss to Easwaran, and the Nellai Royal Kings clinched a place in the final of the 2023 Tamil Nadu Premier League!

Rithik Easwaran! As cool as a cucumber! TNPL's very own ice man takes his side to the final with the most clinical displays of death-over hitting! The Nellai Royal Kings camp are absolutely cock-a-hoop as Easwaran runs off in euphoria! The team sprint out to embrace him and Ajitesh, who has his arms up triumphantly!

19.6 Subodh Bhati to Rithik Easwaran, RITHIK FINISHES IT OFF IN STYLE! Full-toss angling in, Rithik helps it over deep square-leg for a maximum. What a cracking partnership from Ajitesh and Rithik as they take Nellai to the final!

1 ball, 1 run. The field is up. 8 fielders in the inner ring, 5 on the off-side, 3 on the leg side. Prayers being muttered in both the camps...

With 37 required in the last couple of overs, NRK were in with a very slim chance of making it. And now, thanks to some unreal ball striking from Easwaran, they are on the cusp of victory. It's just crazy as to how one over can turn the tide in this sport! 

18.6 G Kishoor to Rithik Easwaran, COOL AND CALM UNDER PRESSURE! Full-toss angling away, Rithik moves across and scoops it over fine-leg for a maximum