The Dindigul Dragons started their Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2023 campaign with a win against Ba11sy Trichy by 6 wickets. But something strange happened in that game. R Ashwin, the captain of Dindigul Dragons reviews the review during the 13th over of the first inning. The off-spinner himself was bowling that over and it happened on the last ball of the over.
Dindigul Dragons vs Ba11sy Trichy, 4th Match, SNR College Cricket Ground, Coimbatore
Dindigul bowlers restrict Trichhy to 120
Ba11sy Trichy won the toss and decided to bat first. They didn’t start off really well and lost 4 wickets in the first powerplay.
Even after the first powerplay, they continue to lose wickets and at one stage, they were 49 for 6 in 10.2 overs. Ganga Sridhar Raju was holding the one end and R Rajkumar joined him at the crease.
R Ashwin reviews the review
Ganga Sridhar Raju and R Rajkumar has just added 20 runs to the score and then that incident happened on the last ball of the 13th over.
R Ashwin came into the attack in the 13th over and gave 5 runs on the first five balls. He bowled a very full ball outside off stump and R Rajkumar tried to whack it over cover. The batter missed that shot and the ball went into the wicketkeeper’s hand.
K Srinivasan, the on-field umpire that there was an edge and gave him out. R Rajkumar reviewed the decision straight away and the third umpire, after checking all the things overturned the decision. The third umpire said there was a clear gap between the bat and the ball. And the bat hits the pitch as well, that’s why there is a spike on the ultra edge.
R Ashwin wasn’t happy with that decision
Dindigul Dragons captain, R Ashwin reviews the decision again and the third umpire again went through the same process of checking. The decision still remains not out for the same reason, the bat hits the pitch, and a clear gap between the bat and the ball.
R Ashwin was also seen showing his disagreement with the umpire after reviewing that decision.
The pair added 65 runs for the 7th wicket
Ganga Sridhar Raju and R Rajkumar added 45 runs after that decision was overturned. Overall, the pair added 65 runs for the 7th wicket. The former scored 48 off 41 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes. And the latter also played a good cameo of 39 off 22 balls with a four and 4 sixes.
But that was not enough for Ba11sy Trichy to put a strong total on the board. They got bowled out on 120 in 19.1 overs. Varun Chakravarthy took 3 wickets for just 21 runs in his 4 overs. R Ashwin himself took 2 wickets and gave away 26 runs in his 4 overs including a maiden.
Dindigul Dragons chased down a target easily
When Dindigul Dragons came out to chase a target, they lost their first wicket early in the inning. But after that, Shivam Singh and Baba Indrajith added 58 runs for the 2nd wicket.
Dindigul lost only 4 wickets in a run chase and chased down a target in 14.5 overs. Shivam Singh scored 46 off 30 balls. The cameos from Baba Indrajith, Adithya Ganesh, and Suboth Bhati also help the team to get over the line.
Dindigul Dragons won the game by 6 wickets and 31 balls left. Varun Chakravarthy becomes the man of the match for his 3 wickets.
Conclusion
R Ashwin is known for his street smartness in cricket. He has a very good cricketing mind which is also praised by the fans and former cricketers. But, it was very strange by the Dindigul Dragons captain. It never happened that someone reviews the decision after the opposition reviewed it.
Cricket never shies away from entertaining us. 18 runs on one ball record also made in this TNPL 2023. People are enjoying the tournament and the big players like R Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy, W Sundar, etc are also playing in this league.
R Ashwin was left out of the playing XI in the ICC WTC (World Test Championship) Final 2023. He showed his disappointment with this in a recent interview. Ashwin also said the players nowadays are colleagues only and not friends.
However, he is back in professional cricket in TNPL 2023 and his team started the tournament really well. Dindigul’s will play their next game against Siechem Madurai Panthers on June 18 at NPR College Ground, Dindigul.
What do you think? Will R Ashwin lead the team to a title? And will he himself do well in the tournament? Comment your answers below.
