11:05pm That brings us to the end of our coverage for tonight. We will be back at it on Friday when the Dindigul Dragons take on the Tiruppur Tamizhans for a place in the final. Until then, this is goodbye from me, Vairavan and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo. Take care, folks!
R Ashwin, the Dindigul Dragons captain is also the Player of the Match: Felt like there were enough mistakes done in a single match. Our players showed we could lose even this match at one point [from a winning position], that's what pressure does to you. They are still learning how to handle pressure, we need to chat about it. It was an imperfect game but our bowling stood out. (Batting still not 100%?) With our batting line-up, I always have a doubt whether I should come ahead or bat down but I can't control too much. Both of our games have been imperfect. We haven't played the perfect game and sealed a crushing win. We need to work on it and have a chat. (On the crowd) Great crowd in Dindigul today, loved the applause for my fifty. I hear there's a demand for tickets in Chepauk (for Qualifier 2). We'll be in yellow this time like CSK, hope the crowd supports us.
Baba Aparajith, Chepauk Super Gillies captain: There was a slow pitch, I thought the score was good. Credit goes to DD batters. Ashwin batted superbly. He took us on in the powerplay and we did not have answers. We could not get the early wickets (we wanted). (On Prem Kumar) Credit to game. It was his first game and he bowled superbly. Lots of talent and we will see a lot of him next season. (On the learnings from this season) Lots of learnings, in all departments. Even in the matches we lost, we lost close matches. Proud of the boys and the effort they put in. I knew this was a pressure game, wanted to take it deeper and get the team to a 150-plus score. We conceded too many in the powerplay and it was tough to then recover from.
10:43pm And...breathe. A topsy-turvy game of cricket, encapsulating all that can go wrong in a playoff game and illustrating just how important it is to hold your nerve. The Dragons, after two-thirds of their run-chase, were well ahead. Ashwin was batting like a dream and Shivam was not faring badly either.
But then...came the collapse, preceded and caused by indecision. Ashwin departed and then Indrajith was run out first ball. Shivam did find the fence a couple of times post it but he too was dismissed with more than 20 needed. Sarath and Bhati, though, cleared the fence just when DD needed it and that proved to be a difference, even as it all threatened to fall apart in a frantic final over.
CSG will be proud of their effort. It seemed they had a below-par total on the board, yet, they fought their hearts out. Prem Kumar, on debut, was exceptional, with Periyaswamy also very tidy. But in the end, they just did not have enough to play with and will be gutted at having missed out on an opportunity to go to Chepauk.
2 off 2 now. Two singles will do the job for the Dragons. Everyone, barring long off, is up in the circle on the off side
Bhati on strike now. 4 off 4
Dinesh Raj is the new batter in
C Sarath Kumar c Aparajith b Shah 12 (11b 0x4 1x6) SR: 109.09
5 off 6 now. And uh-oh, CSG are behind the over-rate and will now have one less fielder outside the ring. Sarath on strike. Rahil to bowl. Around the wicket
END OF OVER:19 | 10 Runs | DD: 154/5 (5 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 8.10, RRR: 5.00)
- Sarath Kumar12 (10b)
- Suboth Bhati13 (10b)
- Abhishek Tanwar4-0-34-1
- Ganeshan Periyaswamy4-0-25-0
DD one hit away from a win
7 off 9. Back to under run-a-ball
15 off 12. This is getting very tense. The Dragons had no business being in this situation. But here they are. The Super Gillies would have dreamt of dragging the game this deep and with a significant chance of victory. And here they are too. Tanwar to bowl
END OF OVER:18 | 3 Runs | DD: 144/5 (15 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 8.00, RRR: 7.50)
- Suboth Bhati5 (7b)
- Sarath Kumar10 (7b)
- Ganeshan Periyaswamy4-0-25-0
- Abhishek Tanwar3-0-24-1
Pressure on the Dragons now. 16 off 13
Periyaswamy to bowl. 18 needed off 18
END OF OVER:17 | 10 Runs 1 Wkt | DD: 141/5 (18 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 8.29, RRR: 6.00)
- Suboth Bhati3 (3b)
- Sarath Kumar9 (5b)
- Abhishek Tanwar3-0-24-1
- J Prem Kumar4-0-26-2
Looks like Aparajith wanted to go upstairs but the window for doing so had elapsed
Bhati in at 7
Shivam Singh c †Jagadeesan b Tanwar 64 (49b 6x4 2x6) SR: 130.61
Tanwar returns. Dragons need 28 off 24