Nellai Royal Kings thrashed Dindigul Dragons by seven wickets in the Qualifier 2 match of the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League and qualified for the final. Chasing 186, the Kings lost two wickets with 69 runs on the board. Later, Ajitesh Guruswamy scored an unbeaten 73 and made the proceedings easier for his team. However, the most important and memorable contribution came from the bat of wicketkeeper Rithik Easwaran, who smashed six sixes and took the Kings into the finals in style.
The Kings needed 37 off the last two overs and then Easwaran rose to the occasion and completely changed the phase of the game. In the 19th over, which was bowled by G Kishoor, the wicketkeeper smashed five sixes. With only four runs left to win in the last over, Easwaran hammered a maximum on the last ball and registered a historical victory.
Asked to bat first, the Dragons posted a total of 185/5 in 20 overs with Shivam Singh scoring 76 off 46 balls. Apart from him, Boopathi Kumar also scored 41 off 28 balls. For the Kings, Sonu Yadav scalped two wickets while M Poiyamozhi and Lakshay Jain took one wicket each.
Later in the chase, Kings skipper Arun Karthik departed after scoring 26, which was followed by the dismissal of P Sugendhiran for 22. Then Ajitesh Guruswamy remained unbeaten at 73 while Easwaran finished the proceedings in style. Apart from them, Nidhish Rajagopal was retired out after scoring 26 off 27 balls. For the Dragons, Aushik Srinivas and Varun Chakaravarthy took one wicket each.
Nellai Royal Kings will now be going up against Lyca Kovai Kings in the summit clash of the Tamil Nadu Premier League on Wednesday at the Indian Cement Company Ground, Tirunelveli.