Karaikudi Kaalai struggled without the usual bashing by their skipper, and they ended with a below-par total, thanks to some miserly bowling, particularly Varun Chakravathi. 

A few hiccups, but a balanced Karthik with composure and aggression in equal measure, steers his team into the play-offs and pulls off a relatively comfortable chase.

Aditya started off on a bright note going after the bowlers in the first innings. He played one shot too many and perished in the last over of the powerplay. Skipper Srikkanth Anirudha struggled with his timing and was dropped early in the innings. 

However, he battled through that tough phase to score 48. After his downfall, Rajhamany Srinivasan held one end and Rajkumar played a cameo. 

For Madurai, Varun Chakravathi was the pick of the bowlers with all his variations, which none of the Kaalai batsmen were able to pick. 158 is a par score considering the dullness of the pitch.

Brief Scores: Madurai Panthers 162/6 (Arun Karthik 85*, Shijit Chandran 38; Yo Mahesh 2/33) beat Karaikudi Kaalai (158/10) by 4 wickets