Andre Siddarth celebrated his 20th birthday in style, smashing a stunning 47-ball 82 (7×4, 5×6) to power Vida Kovai Kings to its third TNPL title with a 84-run win over Madurai Panthers in the summit clash at the MAC Stadium on Friday.
He then cut loose, first going after pacer G. Periyasamy, picking his slower deliveries early and depositing them over the ropes for a brace of maximums. He then did the same to Rohan in the next over, racing into the 70s. Though Panthers pulled things back in the last five overs through P. From there, Jhathavedh Subramanyan and Shahrukh broke through the middle-order and bowled their side to glory.
Saravanan’s four for 30, Andre and Sachin had by then done enough to get a competitive score on board.
After openers S. Radhakrishnan and S. Lokeshwar got the team off to a breezy start, Andre maintained the momentum by playing some stylish strokes. The tall youngster, blessed with a great sense of timing, cut and punched through square elegantly. Player-of-the-final: Andre Siddarth. Player-of-the-tournament: B. Sachin.