TNPL 2021 Preview - Final:
FINALS: 15th August 2021
Teams: Ruby Trichy Warriors vs Chepauk Super Gillies
Place: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Probable Lineups:
Chepauk Super Gillies: Kaushik Gandhi (C), N Jagadeesan (WK), S Radhakrishnan, Uthirasamy Sasidev, Rajagopal Sathish, Harish Kumar, R Alexander, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Sonu Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth, B Arun
Ruby Trichy Warriors: Santosh Shiv, Amit Sathvik, Nidhish Rajagopal, Adithya Ganesh (WK), Muhammed Adnan Khan, Antony Dhas, M Mathivannan, Rahil Shah (C), Saravan Kumar, M Poiyamozhi, Sunil Sam
TITLE DEFENCE BETWEEN THE CONSISTENT AND THE UNDERDOGS
Rahil Shah and Kaushik Gandhi share a smile
Courtesy: TNPL Website
The last two times the teams met, Ruby Trichy Warriors defeated Chepauk Super Gillies by 7 wickets and 5 wickets respectively albeit Nidish Rajagopal and Adithya Ganesh heroics. The final showdown is the third meeting in a season and the defending champions Chepauk Super Gillies would love to defeat them the third time and retain their title while the first time finalists Ruby Trichy Warriors would like to defeat the defending champions for the third time in a season and clinch their maiden title.
The entire tournament has been a great ride for both the teams. Ruby Trichy Warriors truly deserve the underdogs title, as they had their star batters S Aniruddha and M Vijay pull out of the season just days before the start of the tournament and a veteran Rahil Shah in the role of captain. Everyone wrote off them and thought they would end up in 7th or 8th position in the season, but they fought tooth and nail in the tournament and now are in the hunt for their maiden title.
Chepauk Super Gillies, on the other hand, had a tough start to their tournament until Sai Kishore and Sandeep Warrier returned to the fold. The star-studded team after initial hiccups rose up to the occasion and proved their worth only before they were decisively defeated in their last two matches against Ruby Trichy Warriors. The team, as like the Chennai Super Kings in IPL, heavily depends on its spin trio of R Alexander, M Siddharth and R Sai Kishore who have been delivering with a panache. The veteran horse, R Satish, showed that age is just a number with his blitzkrieg innings and the top order of Radhakrishnan, Kaushik Gandhi and Jagadeesan have been always a pillar to the side.
The entire tournament played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, fondly known as the Chepauk, has shown glimpses of pacers and spinners fighting to dominate with spinners taking 125 wickets and pacers taking 215 wickets. There has been some stunning performance on the field by both the team players with Mathivannan, Jagadeesan picking up stunners and making their entry into the catch of the season award.
Saravana Kumar of RTW Radhakrishnan of CSG Nidish Rajagopal of RTW
Courtesy: TNPL Website Courtesy: TNPL Website Courtesy: TNPL Website
Players to watch out:
N Jagadeesan: The wicketkeeper batter who played for Dindigul Dragons last season and captained and took them to their first finals, is now part of the CSG setup in the finals. With being the lead run scorer for the team with 246 runs, he would be a threat on any day given his ability to punch and poke the ball to the fence. He would also be handy behind the stumps.
Sai Kishore: The young and energetic spinner from the CSG, who is also part of the CSK setup along with Jagadeesan will also be a threat, spinning a web around the batters and adding pressure on them with his bowling. He is also a handy fielder and would also swing his bat a bit on the field.
Nidish Rajagopal: The wily southpaw who threatened the CSG bowlers with his neat and panache hitting will be again rubbing shoulders to ensure his team crosses the final hurdle and a worthy customer at the top and is the lead run scorer for the team with 280 runs.
Saravana Kumar: The lanky pacer with a different bowling action will be effective with his outswing and cutters and would be thriving to stay atop and clinch the bowler of the season award and be a real threat in the powerplay for his opposition.
Dream 11 Teams:
Team 1: Adithya Ganesh (RTW), N Jagadeesan (CSG- Vice Captain), Nidish Rajagopal (RTW - Captain), K Gandhi (CSG), S Radhakrishnan (CSG), R Satish (CSG), Anthony Dhas (RTW), P Saravana Kumar (RTW), M Siddharth (CSG), Sai Kishore (CSG), M Mathivannan (RTW)
Team 2: Adithya Ganesh (RTW), A Sathvik (RTW), K Gandhi (CSG - Vice Captain), S Radhakrishnan (CSG), Nidish Rajagopal (RTW), R Satish (CSG), Harish Kumar (CSG), N Mathivannan (RTW), R Shah (RTW), Sonu Yadav (CSG), Sai Kishore (CSG - Captain)
