Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy held his nerve to help Dindigul Dragons seal a last-ball victory in a heart-stopping finish to a high-scoring Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) clash at the Chennai Super Kings ground on Sunday. Chakravarthy struck a six and a four off the final two deliveries to take the Dragons over the line, sealing a dramatic two-wicket win over SKM Salem Spartans.
Chasing 189, the Dragons needed 11 runs from the final over. Pacer M. Poiyamozhi bowled a tidy first four deliveries, even dismissing M Karthik Saran to tilt the game in Salem’s favour. With eight required off the last two balls, a costly no-ball undid all the pressure. Chakravarthy launched the free hit over long-on for six, and with the field in, he drove the final delivery past the infield for four to clinch the match.
As teammates charged onto the field, Ashwin remained seated in the dugout, visibly emotional, soaking in a victory that had seemed unlikely just moments earlier.
Earlier, Ashwin had led from the front. He gave Dindigul a blistering start in the chase with a 14-ball 35, laced with five fours and two sixes, helping his side race to 50 without loss inside 3.2 overs.
His quickfire cameo proved crucial, particularly as wickets tumbled in the middle overs. Shivam Singh contributed 34 off 24, while R K Jayant (25 off 15), Hunny Saini (35 off 28) and Vimal Khumar chipped in with useful runs to keep the Dragons in the hunt.
Ashwin also delivered with the ball, finishing with figures of 3 for 22 from four overs. He struck in his very first over, and later dismissed Sunny Sandhu and Rajendra Vivek, both of whom looked set to shift gears.
Put into bat, Salem Spartans posted a challenging 188 for 7, thanks largely to a composed 74 from 47 balls by Nidhish Rajagopal. Coming in at 13 for 2, Rajagopal held the innings together with six fours and four sixes, before accelerating in the latter stages.
He added 80 runs in just 42 balls with R Vivek (35 off 20) and became the 18th player in TNPL history to cross the 1,000-run milestone. Despite his efforts, Salem were hampered by a record-breaking spell from Dindigul pacer G Periyasamy, who went wicketless and conceded 70 runs in four overs-the most expensive spell in TNPL history.
Needing 11 runs off the last over, the match looked firmly in Salem’s grasp after the first-ball dismissal of Karthik Saran. DT Chandrasekar nudged a single to hand the strike to Chakravarthy, who collected two runs and then watched Poiyamozhi overstep at the worst possible time.
The free hit was launched over long-on for a six. With the field inside the circle for the final ball, Chakravarthy kept his cool and drove the ball through the infield to seal the win, capping off an extraordinary finish.
The victory was Dindigul’s third in five matches this season, keeping them in strong contention for the play-offs. Salem, on the other hand, suffered their third defeat in six outings, despite Rajagopal’s fine effort.
