Lyca Kovai Kings 129 for 7 (Arvindh 27, Atheeq 25, Vignesh 2-15, Varun 2-26, Warrier 2-26) were defeated by Dindigul Dragons 131 for 4 (Ashwin 52, Indrajith 32, Siddharth 1-14) by six wickets.
After a team-wide impressive bowling performance, R Ashwin’s 46-ball 52 at No. 3 enabled Dindigul Dragons win their first Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) championship. In the TNPL 2024, it was Ashwin’s third consecutive fifty.
Thanks to two-wicket finishes from Sandeep Warrier, Varun Chakravarthy, and P Vignesh, Lyca Kovai Kings were held to 129 for 7 in their third consecutive final, as the Dragons overcame it at Chepauk with six wickets and ten balls remaining. Ashwin added four economical overs for just 13 runs.
Following their introduction, Kings quickly accelerated to 48 for 1 in five overs. But in the last over of the powerplay, Varun struck twice in two balls to remove U Mukilesh and S Sujay (22 off 12). B Kings were reduced to 51 for 4 when Sai Sudharsan, who had amassed an undefeated 123 in the first qualifier, promptly chopped a short and wide one straight to backward point.
After that, Ram Arvindh and Atheeq Ur Rahman put together a 36-run partnership in 28 balls. However, Kings’ run-rate decreased after Suboth Bhati broke up that partnership. The captain of the Kings, M Shahrukh Khan, also had a bad day, which led to a terrible end to the innings.
The Dragons’ 130-run chase got off to a somewhat chaotic start as both openers were out of the game in 15 balls. However, B Indrajith (32 off 35) and Ashwin provided some serenity. During his visit, Ashwin scored three sixes and one four. They nearly completed the chase with a run-a-ball score of 65 for the third wicket. One that was eventually finished quickly because of Sarath Kumar’s 15-ball 27 that included two fours and as many sixes.
While Shahrukh won the series after his all-around efforts, Ashwin was chosen Player of the Match for his innings. He amassed 225 runs at a strike rate of 182.92, comfortably the best among the top run scorers in the TNPL 2024, and took 13 wickets, second only to M Poiyamozhi’s 16.