Pradosh Ranjan Paul got Chepauk Super Gillies off to a winning start with a swashbuckling 88 (55b, 12x4, 1x6) as the four-time champion breezed past Salem Spartans by 52 runs at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground here on Tuesday.
Electing to bat, Super Gillies amassed 217 for five, riding on Pradosh’s half-century, before Sanjay Yadav provided the final flourish with an unbeaten 31 (12b, 2x4, 3x6).
Chasing a huge target, Spartans were never in the hunt.
Derailing the chase
Spinners B. Aparajith and B. Rocky derailed the chase, accounting for the top-order by scalping two wickets each.
Muhammed Adnan Khan, who walked in at No. 9, entertained the crowd with an unbeaten 47 (15b, 1x4, 5x6).
He launched into R. Rohit, hitting the pacer for four sixes in the 19th over. But it was too little too late for Spartans.
Earlier, skipper N. Jagadeesan (35) and Pradosh gave Super Gillies a rollicking start, flaying the Spartans attack all over the park during their 91-run stand. The stylish Pradosh came up with an eye-catching knock which contained deft late-cuts and powerful sweeps.
After picking a few boundaries off the pacers, Pradosh went after left-arm spinner Ganesh Moorthi, smashing him to the midwicket fence and lofting him over long-on.
The duo’s efforts took Super Gillies to 64 in the PowerPlay.
The 22-year-old Pradosh reached his half-century with a late-cut off Mokit Hariharan to the third-man fence. Incidentally, the knock came on a day when Pradosh was named in the South Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy.
Spartans skipper Tanwar compounded his team’s woes with a horrid final over, delivering four no-balls, as Sanjay hit him for two sixes and a boundary. The 26-run over knocked the stuffing out of the Salem outfit.
The scores: Chepauk Super Gillies 217/5 in 20 overs (Pradosh Ranjan Paul 88, N. Jagadeesan 35, R. Sanjay Yadav 31 n.o., B. Aparajith 29, Sunny Sandhu 2/32) bt Salem Spartans 165/9 in 20 overs (Muhammed Adnan Khan 47 n.o., B. Rocky 2/13, M. Viju Arul 2/18, B. Aparajith 2/28).
