With both teams knocked out of the tournament, the Ruby Trichy Warriors took on the Salem Spartans in the 24th match of TNPL 2022 on Thursday (July 21) at the SCF Cricket Ground in Salem. Trichy took home the two points in a rain-curtailed encounter.
With not much to play for, both sides made changes to their lineup. Trichy captain Rahil Shah won the toss and chose to field on a slow and sticky surface. Salem's season didn't get any better, as they had a poor time out in the middle with the bat.
They couldn't get going, failing to find the boundary regularly, even during the powerplay. Once the field restrictions were removed, Trichy took control of the match. Once Rahil Shah dismissed S Ganesh in the ninth over, the wickets began tumbling at regular intervals.
It was the spinners' show for Trichy as Atheeq Ur Rahman and Rahil Shah spun a web around the hapless Salem batters. While the former finished with figures of 2/9 in three overs, the skipper led from the front, returning with 3/13 in 3.5 overs. Salem was bowled out for a sub-par total of 87 in 19.5 overs.
While the wicket wasn't great to bat on, a target of 88 should've been easy for the Ruby Trichy Warriors. Lokesh Raj's double strike in the third over did dent their innings a little bit, but they looked comfortable at 26/2 in five overs when the rain started, four runs ahead of the DLS par score.
That proved to be the margin of victory for Trichy as the play didn't resume, and they were adjudged winners by the DLS method.
TNPL 2022 Updated Points Table
The result doesn't have much impact on the points table, with both sides remaining seventh and eighth, respectively. Salem is now sure to take home the wooden spoon this season and will look to end their season on a winning note as a consolation. Trichy remain seventh but is now level on points with the Dindigul Dragons.
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