C. Andre Siddarth celebrated his 20th birthday in style, smashing a stunning 47-ball 82 (7×4, 5×6) to power Vida Kovai Kings to its third TNPL title, beating Madurai Panthers by 84 runs in the summit clash here at the MAC Stadium on Friday.
It was a remarkable turnaround for M. Shahrukh Khan’s men, who had just one win from the first four games before stringing together five consecutive victories to emerge triumphant in the tournament’s tenth edition.
Electing to bat, Kovai Kings made 182 for seven, riding on a 117-run stand for the third wicket between Andre and B.
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After openers S. Lokeshwar and S. Radharkishnan got the team off to a breezy start, Andre then maintained the momentum by playing some elegant strokes. The tall youngster, blessed with a great sense of timing, cut and punched through square elegantly.
Andre had a moment of fortune when he was dropped on 44 by ‘keeper Ramkumar off Rohan Butra, and he gleefully accepted the birthday gift by bringing up his half-century in 34 deliveries.
He then cut loose, first on pacer G. Periyasamy, picking his slower deliveries early and depositing over the ropes for a brace of maximums. He then did the same to Butra in the next over, racing into the 70s. Though Panthers pulled back in the last five overs through P. Saravanan’s four for 30, Andre and Sachin had by then done enough to get a competitive score on board.
Chasing 183, Panthers’ chase went awry immediately after pacer Deeban Lingesh and M. Siddharth sent back the openers in the first two overs. N.S. Chaturved and V. Hari Ragavendra tried to rebuild the innings, but the latter was run out attempting a needless single in the final over of the PowerPlay.
From there, Jhathavedh Subramanyan and Shahrukh Khan broke through the middle-order and bowled their side to glory.
THE SCORES
Vida Kovai Kings 182 for seven in 20 overs (B. Sachin 39, C. Andre Siddarth 82, Saravanan 4/30) bt Madurai Panthers 98 in 14.2 overs (NS Chaturved 40, Deepban Lingesh 2/30, Siddharth 3/18, Shahrukh Khan 3/10). Toss: VKK.
