Sachin Rathi celebrates one of his strikes.
| Photo Credit: E. LAKSHMI NARAYANAN

: Sachin Rathi cast a spell as the left-arm spinner ripped through the SKM Salem Spartans batting line-up with a sensational maiden five-wicket haul (4-0-17-5) before opener D. Santhosh Kumar destructive 36-ball 73 powered Nellai Royal Kings to a commanding eight-wicket win in the evening TNPL fixture at the Salem Cricket Foundation ground here on Sunday.

Opener C. Hari Nishaanth began cautiously before taking on pacer Emmanuel Cherian, smashing 18 runs off the third over. He then welcomed Sonu Yadav with a mighty maximum en route his second half-century of the season, helping Spartans reach 62 without loss in eight overs.

But the momentum shifted once Sachin entered. He dismissed Nishaanth with a simple catch in the deep and also removed R. Vivek before ending skipper S. Abishiek’s misery in the ninth over.

Spartans collapsed to 76 for seven in no time. Off-spinner Rocky Bhasker trapped R. Kavin leg-before, while Sachin returned to dismiss Sunny Sandhu and Nidhish Rajagopal — both caught behind —to complete his five-wicket haul.

Offie P.S. Nirmal Kumar then removed Harish Kumar, while Sonu accounted for Boopathi Vaishna Kumar and M. Eshwar as Spartans never recovered from Sachin’s magical spell.

Tushar Raheja smashes one through the off-side.
| Photo Credit:
E. LAKSHMI NARAYANAN

Earlier, Tushar Raheja smashed his fourth consecutive half-century of the season as IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans crushed Trichy Grand Cholas by seven wickets.

Chasing a target of 165, Tushar (80, 36b, 8×4, 6×6) unleashed a brutal assault on P. Saravana Kumar, striking three fours and two sixes in an over as 26 runs came off it.

Athisayaraj faced the same punishment as Tushar sent the ball soaring over the square-leg boundary and followed it with a four as Tamizhans raced to 51 in four overs.

Impact Player K. Easwaran dismissed opener Amit Sathwick and No. 3 Daryl Ferrario in the fifth over.

However, Tushar was unstoppable. He took on left-arm spinner N. Selva Kumaran, hammering two massive sixes — on either side of the wicket — and two fours in a 20-run sixth over.

He continued his onslaught against off-spinner U. Mukilesh, dispatching him for a four and a six before falling to left-arm spinner Sanjay Yadav. An unbroken 59-run association between Pradosh Ranjan Paul and S. Mohamed Ali for the fourth wicket sealed it for the Tiruppur side.

Earlier, Sanjay’s explosive knock (60 n.o., 32b, 5×4, 4×6) took Cholas to 164 for seven, but it wasn’t enough.

The scores: Trichy Grand Cholas 164/7 in 20 overs (S. Sujay 37, Sanjay Yadav 60 n.o., Mohan Prasath 2/16) lost to IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans 165/3 in 18.5 overs (Tushar Raheja 80, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 42 n.o., K. Easwaran 2/10).

Toss: Tamizhans.

SKM Salem Spartans 126/9 in 20 overs (C. Hari Nishaanth 50, Sonu Yadav 2/16, Sachin Rathi 5/17) lost to Nellai Royal Kings 130/2 in 13.4 overs (D. Santhosh Kumar 73, P.S. Nirmal Kumar 37 n.o.). Toss: Royal Kings.

Monday’s match:

Dindigul Dragons vs Chepauk Super Gillies (7.15 p.m.).