TNPL: Baba Aparajith smashes 63-ball 118* as VB Thiruvallur Veerans win

Dindigul (Tamil Nadu), Aug 26: Captain Baba Aparajith scored the first century of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2016 Twenty20 tournament to steer VB Thiruvallur Veerans to a 5-wicket victoy over Karaikudi Kaalai at NPR College Ground in Natham, Dindigul yesterday (August 25).

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Aparajith's 118 not out off just 63 balls (12x4, 6x6), ensured that Veerans successfully chased down the target of 166 in 18.4 overs. Aparajith reached his hundred with a six.

Aparajith scored his half century in 34 balls and later blazed his way to three-figure mark. He took just 23 deliveries to move from half ton to hundred.

Malolan Rangarajan too starred for Veerans with an all-round show. He first claimed 2 wickets and contributed 30 runs with the bat. (Karthik stars in Patriots' win)

For Karaikudi Kaalai, Rajhamany Srinivasan scored 50 as they posted 165/6 in 20 overs.

"I wanted to go hard in that over (against Kiran Akash) and I didn't play high-risk shots. Everything fell in place in that over and I got a few boundaries. It was not planned since I just wanted to go hard and play with good intent. That over gave us momentum because we had hardly scored in the first three overs," Aparajith said when asked wheter counter-attaching was his game plan after losing an early wicket.

On the win he said, "It means a lot since in a T20 tournament it is important to get off to a winning start. It will give us the much-needed momentum going into the tournament."

Brief Scores

Karaikudi Kaalai 165/6 in 20 overs (Rajhamany Srinivasan 50 (38b, 6x4s), M Vijay Kumar 43 (39b, 4x4, 1x6), R Rajkumar 34 (13b, 3x4, 3x6), Abhishek Tanwar 3/29, Malolan Rangarajan 2/18) lost to VB Thiruvallur Veerans 167/5 in 18.4 overs (Baba Aparajith 118 not out (63b, 12x4, 6x6), Malolan Rangarajan 30 (20b, 4x4), C Ganapathy 2/38) by 5 wickets.

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