Chepauk Super Gillies
Chepauk Super Gillies dominated the league stage of TNPL 2025. The team won its first 4 matches back-to-back and topped the points table. Their combination was strong in both ball and bat but the pressure showed in Qualifier 1. Against IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans, they were given a target of 203 runs but the entire team fell short at just 123 runs.
Baba Aparajith did a little counter-attack with 30 runs and Hariharan also scored 25 runs but everyone else failed. In bowling too, all the bowlers were expensive and only Lokesh Raj managed to take 2 wickets. This was a big defeat shock for such a strong team. Now Chepauk got one more chance in Qualifier 2 where they will have to bounce back against the Dragons. This match is no less than a do-or-die for them to reach the final.
Dindigul Dragons
Dindigul Dragons' form was a bit up and down in the tournament but they caught the momentum at the right time. In the League stage, they won 4 matches and lost 3 which gave them the third position. In the Eliminator, they easily defeated Trichy Grand Cholas. After winning the toss, Ashwin chose to bowl first and the decision was perfect.
Cholas managed to score only 140 runs where Ashwin, Varun and Periyaswamy took 7 wickets together. Then Ashwin took full control in batting and played a match-winning innings of 83*. He along with Baba Indrajith finished the match in just 16 overs. This is a familiar situation for Dindigul Dragons as last season also they had won the trophy by starting from the eliminator. Now his confidence is high and he is ready for another final.
The pitch of NPR College Ground is balanced. At the start of the match batting is easy, the ball comes on the bat well and scoring runs becomes a little easy. A score of 160-180 is considered normal in the first innings. But as the match progresses the pitch starts slowing down. Tab spinners get help and the ball grips.
Due to the abpve case it becomes a little tough to chase runs in the second innings. If a team sets a target above 180 then there is pressure on the other team. After winning the toss the decision of batting or bowling should be taken after looking at the condition of the pitch, but due to the pitch being slow it seems better to bat first.
These two teams holds the legacy of TNPL. Chepauk Super Gillies and Dindigul Dragons has been the two of the most sucessfull franchise in the TNPL history. This clash is not only a clash between two teams but a clash between the Baba brothers, a clash between two champinons of TNPL, a clash between the most sucessfull team of TNPL and defending champions of TNPL.
Historically, Chepauk Super Gillies have dominated Dindigul Dragons in the head-to-head matches, winning 9 out of 13 matches in the tournament history. Dindigul Dragons could only manage to win four matches in the battle between the champions.
Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Vimal Khumar, Baba Indrajith(w), Maan Bafna, Hunny Saini, M Karthik Saran, Dinesh H, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sandeep Warrier, Sasidharan Ravichandran, Ganeshan Periyaswamy
Injury Update: None
K Aashiq, RS Mokit Hariharan, Baba Aparajith(c), Vijay Shankar, N Jagadeesan(w), Abhishek Tanwar, Swapnil Singh, S Dinesh Raj, J Prem Kumar, M Silambarasan, Lokesh Raj
Injury Updates: None
Keepers: Baba Indrajith
Batters: Baba Aparajith, Shivam Singh
All-rounders: Ravichandran Ashwin, Abhishek Tanwar, Vijay Shankar
Bowlers: M Silambarasan, J Prem Kumar, Lokesh Raj, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ganeshan Periyaswamy
Ravichandran Ashwin
Vijay Shankar
Varun Chakaravarthy
Baba Aparajith
Keepers: Baba Indrajith
Batters: Baba Aparajith, Shivam Singh
All-rounders: Ravichandran Ashwin, Abhishek Tanwar, Vijay Shankar, Swapnil Singh
Bowlers: Varun Chakaravarthy, Lokesh Raj, Sandeep Warrier, Ganeshan Periyaswamy
Baba Indrajith
Swapnil Singh
Sandeep Warrier
Ganeshan Periyaswamy
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