Dindigul Dragons win their 1st-ever TNPL championship thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin’s all-around performance

Dindigul Dragons won their first-ever TNPL (Tamil Nadu Premier League) championship, capping the 2024 season. On Sunday, August 4, the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai hosted the championship match between the Lyca Kovai Kings and the Dindigul Dragons.

After losing the toss, Kovai Kings elected to bat first to start the game. Suresh Kumar and S Sujay scored 11 and 22, respectively, to start the team. After U Mukilesh left for a golden duck, Sai Sudharsan scored 14 runs in the same number of deliveries.

Additionally, their team scored 129 runs in the first innings thanks to scores of 27 and 25 from Ram Arvindh and Atheeq Ur Rahman, respectively. Kings were held to a meagre total thanks to the valiant efforts of Dragons captain Ravichandran Ashwin.

In his four overs, Ashwin gave up just 13 runs while picking up no wickets. Along with Suboth Bhati who scored one, other wickets taken were by Sandeep Warrier, Varun Chakravarthy, and P Vignesh.

After opening scorers Vimal Khumar and Shivam Singh left the game with nine and four runs, respectively, the Dragons were off to a terrible start as they set out to chase the mark. Ashwin, the captain, meanwhile, steadied the innings for his team.

Ashwin assisted his team in reaching the goal by scoring 52 runs in 46 deliveries. Both Baba Indrajith and Sarath Kumar contributed significantly with the bat. Indrajith amassed 32 runs in 35 deliveries, while Kumar added 27* runs in 15 balls. The Dindigul Dragons won their first-ever TNPL title by six wickets after finishing the game in 18.2 overs.

Also Read: I thought I should have improved my game for the last IPL: Ravichandran Ashwin

The seasoned all-around player received the Player of the Match accolade for his efforts. The batsman steadied his team’s innings with his bat and was incredibly economical with the ball. Ashwin, who played a captain’s innings, contributed significantly to the Dragons’ victory.

Here’s what Dindigul skipper and Player of the Match Ashwin said after the triumph:

Win happened in a flow. We’re the only team to lose to Salem. We started slow, were a bit inexperienced at the start and dropped plenty of catches. But the players improved with each game, and I’m so happy for them. They should play for higher honours for TN. Sarath was terrific. He had some shoulder problems, but today he was jumping like Jonty Rhodes. He was everywhere. I wanted to open in this tournament. We didn’t have a head coach. I was practicing myself.

When the wickets were slow, some of the assistant coaches told me to try it out. I had a great time going all around TN and contributing. Many players have improved and broken through. Tushar Raheja, for example. Siddharth has been fantastic. Future of left-arm spin – the speed he bowls at. Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Singh, there are so many players. Many of them have made a switch, and now they’re poised to go to the next level. We’ve been to qualifiers, eliminators, final, we just couldn’t cross the final hurdle. Now glad we’re able to.