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Time of India
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Tushar Raheja and Esakkimuthu: Tiruppur Tamizhans' twin pillars in TNPL triumph
A Esakkimuthu and Tushar Raheja CHENNAI: Tiruppur Tamizhans' sheer dominance over the past month culminated in their maiden TNPL crown on Sunday. Central to their success were Tushar Raheja and A Esakkimuthu, who shone the brightest in a team that also had other players sparkle. While opener Tushar shattered a record by accumulating 488 runs, the most in a TNPL season, young pacer Esakkimuthu (14 wickets) was the breakout star of the tournament. Tushar looked in magical touch for much of his near-perfect campaign, putting Tamizhans in the box seat with strong powerplay work. The elegant southpaw amassed runs with remarkable consistency (5 half-centuries in 9 innings) and a brilliant strike-rate (185.55) as he constantly proved to be a thorn in rivals' flesh. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai According to Tushar, having a positive mindset and better understanding of his T20 game helped create waves. 'I set the base for myself last season; I found the pattern in terms of my T20 batting. This year, I worked a lot more mentally. I am glad that I was able to produce better results than last season,' Tushar, also named the 'Player of the Tournament', told TOI. 'When you play a T20 match, you cannot quite look at who the bowler is. I always look for runs irrespective of the situation and the bowler. In T20 cricket, there is not much time to give too much respect to a particular name,' said Tushar, who forged a superb opening combination with Amith Sathvik (340 runs). As for the 23-year-old Esakkimuthu, he made heads turn with raw pace in his maiden season. Courtesy his excellent performances in the middle overs, which ensured Tamizhans had a stranglehold on their opponents in most matches, Esakkimuthu deservedly bagged the 'Emerging Bowler of the Season' award. The right-armer put it down to the role clarity provided by the think-tank and captain R Sai Kishore. 'They backed me a lot, trusted me and told me what exactly I had to do. Whenever I made mistakes, I had players like T Natarajan by my side. I just trusted my pace during the tournament, but I have to work on variations,' Esakkimuthu said. What made his run all the more impressive was the ability to bounce back from a nightmarish outing in his second game. Esakkimuthu leaked 25 runs in his final over, including bowling four successive no-balls, against Salem Spartans, who hugely benefitted from it and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. 'After that match, I became stronger mentally. I was even more motivated to perform for the people who backed me in the journey. I wanted to give something back to them. I was told that I would not be dropped and that they expect me to win the following match. Those words gave me a lot of confidence,' Esakkimuthu added.
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Spin dominance behind Tushar Raheja's rise
CHENNAI: Five matches in, and Tushar Raheja hasn't missed a beat. With scores of 80, 74, 65*, 79 and 40 in Tiruppur Tamizhans' first five games this TNPL season, the southpaw has become the cynosure of all eyes. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This purple patch hasn't come out of nowhere. Tushar, who joined Tiruppur in 2021, started to see an upward trajectory last season. He finished as the league's second-highest run-scorer and earned his Tamil Nadu debut soon after. For the 24-year-old from Chennai, that was the season things began to click. Tushar saw it as a breakthrough season. Not just because of the runs, but it also helped him understand his T20 game better. 'After the last season, I think I have really learnt a lot about myself and how my game is in terms of T20. I have learnt how to pace my innings better and understand what is working and what is not. So, ahead of this season, I tried to build on that and worked on the areas where I was lacking last year,' Tushar told TOI. Tushar went on to spend hours sharpening his game against spin, an area he felt he had to improve. 'I worked on playing spin better. And, generally, I would always do well in the powerplay, but after those six overs were done, I would slow down, and my strike rate would drop. I wanted to see how I can keep that momentum going even after the powerplay. So, I did a lot of drills against spin and worked on my technique with my coach, TV Ram Kumar, in Ambattur. And mentally, I have done a lot of work,' said the opening batter. While those sessions were focused on fine-tuning his game, there was also a flicker of hope that it might open bigger doors. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He had his eye on the IPL, like any young player would. He attended trials for a few teams, but the call never came. 'I did really well in the trials. So obviously, as a human being, somewhere down there, that expectation is there. But I knew, it being my first breakout year in TNPL, I didn't want to have too many expectations. When I didn't get picked (in IPL), I wasn't heartbroken as such. I tried to take it as a positive. I wanted to make sure last year was just the starting point. I wanted to do much better this year, I had that hunger in me,' said Tushar. The wicketkeeper-batter took the snub in his stride and used the miss as motivation. And, that positive intent shows in his batting. In his recent sterling knocks, Tushar has batted with flair, stepping out with ease and hitting the ball with a sense of freedom that doesn't look reckless. 'I'm someone who likes to play very positively, and I like taking the attack to the bowlers. So even in the longest format, it's not like I curb my instincts too much. I like to express myself there as well. So, I feel that is the way I've grown up batting naturally. That is who I am as a person. I feel when my instincts take over, it is best for me, and I think that is my biggest strength.' Tushar, who plays for Alwarpet CC in the TNCA first-division league, wants to establish himself as a red-ball player as well. 'I have not done that well in the TNCA first-division league to get a TN call-up in the longest format. But I really want to prove myself in the red-ball format as well.'
