Rithik smashed two sixes in the final over.
| Photo Credit: G. Karthikeyan
The weather gods briefly halted the proceedings in the battle between the Kings at the NPR College Ground on Thursday.
But once the rain relented, S. Rithik Easwaran weathered the Vida Kovai Kings storm with a sensational 69 off 31 balls (4×4, 6×6), helping Nellai Royal Kings overcome a mid-innings wobble and win by two wickets in a Tamil Nadu Premier League thriller.
The Royal Kings’ 163-run chase stuttered at the start as left-arm spinner M. Siddharth struck in the second over, dismissing Santhosh Kumar.
Deeban Lingesh removed the other opener, S.R. Athish, in the third over before G. Ajitesh and U. Mukilesh looked to repair the damage. Ajitesh smashed G. Kishoor for a six but was caught off the very next ball in the eighth over, the pacer holding a sharp return catch to break a 38-run stand.
Mukilesh soon followed him to the dugout while Jhathavedh Subramanyan castled debutant Sachin Sre Dev as the Nellai outfit slipped to 92 for five. Deeban piled more misery, striking twice in the 17th over and leaving Royal Kings in trouble.
Rithik, however, refused to throw in the towel. With 17 needed off the final over, he smacked Kishoor for two huge sixes before Sachin Rathi scampered through for a bye to seal a dramatic victory with a ball to spare.
Earlier, V. Yudheeswaran’s three for 25 and Rathi’s two for 30 kept the Kovai side in check.
In the other match, Shyam Sundar’s unbeaten 104 (57b, 8×4, 7×6) set up Trichy Grand Cholas’ 17-run win over iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans. Opener Tushar Raheja’s 87, his third half-century of the edition, went in vain.
Shyam’s unbeaten century set up Grand Cholas’ victory.
| Photo Credit:
G. Karthikeyan
The scores: Vida Kovai Kings 162/9 in 20 overs (B. Sachin 42, Emmanuel Cherian 2/37, Sachin Rathi 2/30, V. Yudheeswaran 3/25) lost to Nellai Royal Kings 163/8 in 19.5 overs (S. Rithik Easwaran 69, Deeban Lingesh 3/41, G. Kishoor 3/32). Trichy Grand Cholas 196/6 in 20 overs (K. Rajkumar 37, Shyam Sundar 104 n.o., T. Natarajan 2/32) bt iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans 179/8 in 20 overs (Tushar Raheja 87, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 44, Athisayaraj Davidson 2/24, K. Easwaran 3/24, Sanjay Yadav 2/28).
Friday’s matches: SKM Salem Spartans vs. Dindigul Dragons, 3.30 p.m.; Madurai Panthers vs. Chepauk Super Gillies, 7.30 p.m.
Published – August 14, 2026 12:15 am IST
