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So where did the first innings turn? At 10.3 overs, Siddharth cleaned up the dangerous Arvindh for 63. That was the big wicket. And it opened the door. Ashwanth Valthapa fell for 5 soon after. Swapnil, who had made 20, followed at 12.1. Mohana Prasath made 12 before falling at 14.2. The Gillies slipped from 101/3 to 130/7, losing wickets faster than they could build momentum. Dinesh Raj then provided a late spark with 32 off 18, including three fours and two sixes. But RS Ambrish struck again. Raj fell for 32 in the 19th over. Chepauk were eventually bowled out for 167 in 19.3 overs. A comeback had become a competitive total.

Could Chepauk build on that recovery? They certainly did. Ram Arvindh changed the tempo completely. He attacked the bowling and brought up his fifty from just 28 balls, eventually racing to a superb 63 off 32, with seven fours and four sixes. Swapnil played the ideal supporting role as the pair added 80 for the fourth wicket. The Gillies reached 100 in 9.6 overs. Suddenly, 21/3 had become 100/3. Was 180 on the cards? It looked possible. But Manimaran Siddharth had other plans.

Let's rewind a bit....

How did Chepauk Super Gillies begin? Not how they would have wanted. The Super Gillies were reduced to 21/3 inside three overs, with Narayan Jagadeesan falling for 6, K Aashiq run out for a duck, and Mokit Hariharan dismissed for 13. Manimaran Siddharth and Ramesh Divakar had the game firmly in their hands. But then came the counterpunch. Ram Arvindh and Swapnil Singh refused to let the Powerplay become a full-blown disaster. Boundaries started flowing. The Gillies reached 48/3 after six overs. The innings had survived. Just about.

11 PM IST, Local Time: VIDA Kovai Kings recovered from a shaky start with the ball and chased 168 with plenty to spare. Chepauk Super Gillies looked down and out at 21/3, only to fight their way back to 167 through a brilliant 63 from Ram Arvindh and a late burst from Dinesh Raj. But VKK answered every twist with another partnership, another boundary and another push forward. They raced to 65/1 in the Powerplay and kept the asking rate under control even when wickets fell. Radhakrishnan gave them the early spark, Lokeshwar and Sachin rebuilt beautifully, and Shahrukh Khan supplied the finishing punch with a 25 off just 11 balls. In the end, 171/5 in 18.5 overs tells the story. CSG had the comeback, but VKK had the better encore.

Narayan Jagadeesan (Chepauk Super Gillies Captain): "[Did they fall 20-30 runs short?] Definitely. It was a very good wicket to bat on. I feel 200 was always on the cards.

[What was the key to succeed tonight?] I think in this game, it was important to keep wickets in hand. The openers, myself and Mokit and we lost three wickets in the powerplay, We had a good partnership between Ram and Swapnil. But I think we lost the momentum in the 12th over, we lost three wickets in tandem.

[Were there any positives?] Definitely. On such a good wicket, putting a score of 167 is always going to be challenging. But the way we bowled, it was good. We still prolonged the game. It was only in the last over that they got through."

Player of the Match: RS Ambrish

Shahrukh Khan (VIDA Kovai Kings Captain): (On winning two games in a row and finally winning a toss) "It feels good. I was losing the toss, but the toss plays a very small role in a 40-over game. Even though some games didn't go our way, we didn't bring our A game. But we've been focusing for the last two games, and we put on a good show today.

(On the team's strong powerplay and bowling effort) Mindfully, you know, I don't want to hype them up too much now because we're a very process-oriented team, and we try and stick to our basics as much as possible. 85-90% of the time, if you stick to your basics, half the job is done, more than half the job is done. So that's our plan. I think they did a good job today.

(On the unusual run-out involving Sachin and Lokesh) I think it's the first time I've seen something in T20 where a batter goes out of the boundary line, removes his bat, sits in the dugout again, and then goes and gets a bat. Lucky Lokesh there. The first time it happened, but I think it shouldn't happen again."

So what decided the match? Both teams had their moments. Chepauk's recovery from 21/3 to 167 was impressive, led by Arvindh's 63 and that crucial 80-run fourth-wicket partnership. But Kovai's response was even sharper. 65/1 in the Powerplay, 100/1 after ten, and 150/4 after 16.5 overs showed how well they controlled the chase. Radhakrishnan's explosive start, Sachin's 37, and Shahrukh's 25 off 11 formed the backbone of the pursuit. 

Chepauk kept taking wickets, but Kovai kept finding boundaries. Five wickets in hand. A victory. Seven balls unused. And a win to open the Chennai leg of TNPL 2026.

Until then, I am Dev Rajawat, signing off, along with my co-commentator, Akshay Bhide, and scorer Raju Khariya. That’s it from our side. Thanks for joining. But cricket doesn’t sleep. Plenty is happening around the world. Switch tabs, follow the fun. Goodbye from this tab! TAKE CARE! BREATHE AND SMILE! CIAO!