Tushar Raheja and Pradosh Paul lift Tiruppur Tamizhans to TNPL top

Tushar Raheja smashed 48 off 17 balls on his captaincy debut, and Pradosh Ranjan Paul scored an unbeaten 65 as iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans beat Madurai Panthers by four wickets in a TNPL match at the MAC Stadium in Chennai on Thursday. The win was the Tamizhans' fourth of the season and took them to the top of the table.

Chasing 158, Tushar hit five sixes in a single over off spinner Rohan Bhutra during the PowerPlay to put his side at 81 for two after six overs. Madurai's Shoaib Mohammed Khan then took four for 21, reducing Tiruppur to 91 for five. Pradosh calmly rebuilt the chase, finishing with a hooked six over fine-leg to seal the win with 2.2 overs to spare.

Earlier, left-arm spinners M. Mathivannan (three for 18) and Mohan Prasath (two for 27) reduced the Panthers to 76 for seven. A 73-run stand for the eighth wicket between Atheeq Ur Rahman (43) and Bhutra (36) lifted Madurai to 157 for nine. The scores: Madurai Panthers 157/9 in 20 overs lost to iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans 160/6 in 17.4 overs.