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'Isse acha corporate cricket me bowler hote hai' - Fans react as Nellai Roya Kings batters score 33 runs in penultimate over when 37 runs were needed in Qualifier 2

Nellai Royal Kings needed 37 runs in two overs when the likes of Rithik Easwaran and Guruswamy Ajitesh scored 33 runs in the 19th over.

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Rohit Kumar
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'Isse acha corporate cricket me bowler hote hai' - Fans react as Nellai Roya Kings batters score 33 runs in penultimate over when 37 runs were needed in Qualifier 2

Nellai Royal Kings batters, Rithik Easwaran and Guruswamy Ajitesh (Image Credit: Twitter)

In the second Qualifier of the ongoing TNPL 2023, Nellai Royal Kings' batters, Guruswamy Ajitesh and Rithik Easwaran did the unthinkable. At the start of the 19th over, they needed an improbable 37 runs to win the virtual semifinal. The over was bowled by G Kishoor. Even though he conceded 17 runs in his first two overs, he surely wasn't expected to leak 33 runs.

However, as it turned, the right-arm medium-fast bowler did so. Wicketkeeper batter Rithik Easwaran was on strike batting on seven off four balls. He hit three sixes in a row to start the proceedings. The first two sixes were toward long off and long on respectively. The third one was hit over the deep cover fence. Ajitesh hit a six between long on and deep midwicket on the fifth ball.

However, thanks to Kishoor overstepping, both batters changed ends. On the last ball of the over, Rithik hit a six over deep fine leg on a free hit to bring the equation down to four needed off the last over.

Watch the video here

Nellai Royal Kings to play final against Lyca Kovai Kings

Talking about the game, the Royal Kings won the toss and elected to bowl first. Batting first, the Kovai Kings laid a great foundation as Shivam Singh (76) and Boopathi Kumar (41) provided a great start. In the end, skipper Baba Indrajith (13*) played a cameo and helped the team reach 185/5.

In reply, despite losing the openers inside nine overs, the likes of Ajitesh and Nidhish Rajagopal kept the scoring going although the latter struggled with the bat. During the 17th over, Rajagopal was retired and it proved to be a blessing in disguise as discussed above. In the last over, the winning team needed only four runs but was made to struggle by Suboth Bhati. In the first five balls, they scored three runs to level the game. On the last ball, Easwaran scored a six to seal a spot in the final against Lyca Kovai Kings on July 12.

This is how Twitter reacted

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