Salem Spartans had a good outing during the powerplay (50-1) with smart cricketing and steady run score. Abhishek exhibited an impressive batting performance and powered the score in the initial overs. His steady knock came to an end when he was run out by Aswin Chris at 38/31.

His dismissal paved the way for the experienced campaigner, Vijay Shankar to come in the crease with confidence and raring to go. As Akshay and Shankar were building a partnership, the former was caught out at 23/24, a much needed wicket for Tiruppur.

Vijay Shankar found in skipper Daryl Ferrario, the partnership that he lost in Akshay. Their timely boundaries accelerated the score until Shankar was caught out at 26/20.  The big wicket was claimed by Rajkumar’s brilliant bowling. Although Vijay’s loss was not apparent initially with the skipper displaying a stunning performance, the final over took the hit as Aswin’s excellent delivery bagged two dot balls and Daryl Ferrario’s wicket 40/27. Murugan Ashwin came through with a four in the final delivery and put the score of 164/5.

Salem Spartans opted to bat after winning the toss against Trichy Tamizhans.

Brief score: Daryl Ferrario 40(27), S Abhishek 38(31)