Ruby Trichy Warriors became the first finalist of the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2021 after defeating Chepauk Super Gillies by five wickets in Qualifier 1, on Tuesday, 10 August.
Half-centuries from Nidhish Rajagopal and Adithya Ganesh helped the Warriors ease past the target of 153 runs with a ball to spare. Earlier, S. Radhakrishnan made 82 in 54 balls after the Super Gillies lost two early wickets.
Kaushik Gandhi and N. Jagadeesan faltered when it mattered the most. Both were undone by Saravan Kumar. Radhakrishnan then held the innings and kept striking regularly. He reached his half-century with a six over the backward square.
Uthirasamy Sasidev never looked at ease. He took 29 balls for his 23. Rajagopal Sathish (29) made a crucial contribution as the Super Gillies posted 153/3.
The Warriors lost opener Santos Shiv early, but Nidhish Rajagopal started attacking straightaway. He added 93 for the fourth wicket with Adithya Ganesh.
By the time Rajagopal was run out for 55, he had already done his job. Adithya hit a six over mid-wicket on the penultimate ball of the innings to take his team the final.
Brief scores: Ruby Trichy Warriors 153/8 in 20 overs (Radhakrishnan 82*; Saravan 2-32) lost to Chepauk Super Gillies 157/5 in 19.5 overs (Ganesh 66*; Manimaran 2-23) by 5 wickets with 1 ball to spare. Player of the Match: Adithya Ganesh.