Published: Sep 11, 2016, 02:17 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 11, 2016, 05:46 PM (IST)
Hello, Matiya Vaṇakkam! Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of the Match 23 of the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2016, between Dindigul Dragons and Karaikudi Kaalai at the NPR College Ground in Dindigul on Sunday, as we bring you the live updates of this tie. The Dragons are currently placed second in the table with eight points from five games, including four wins and a loss, as a win here would take them to the top, while the Kaalai’s are currently placed fifth in the table after five games, along with three wins and a couple of losses, as a win here along with a stellar run rate could possibly take them to the top as well, as it promises to be a thrilling tie. TNPL 2016 Schedule & Fixture: Complete Time Table, Dates, Venue & Match Timings of Tamil Nadu Premier League
Karakudai Kaalai will go head-to-head against Dindugul Dragons in the first game of what will be a double-header day for fans of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) on September 11. The clash will take place at the NPR College Ground in Dindigul. Karaikudai Kaalai have been really impressive in the last three games. They have turned their fortunes around at just the right time in the tournament. Edging past Tuti Patriots gave them their first win. It was a low-scoring game, and they haven’t looked behind since then. Dindigul Dragons on the other hand, have been really impressive too. They have lost just one game out of five and need just one more win to qualify for the play-offs. READ: TNPL 2016: Players to watch out for
A 52-run and a 36-run win respectively in the two games, has kept Kaalai at No.5 on the TNPL Points Table. They have made some changes in their batting order as well. With Anirudha Srikanth now coming to bat in the middle-order, and scoring an important 45-run knock off just 29 balls, it looks like Kaalai will stick to that change.
Captain Subramaniam Badrinath too, has been really good with bowling changes and his batting as well. He has lead by example and contributed whenever his team has needed him. The bowling has peaked at just the right time for Kaalai. Their bowlers have not only kept things tight, they have taken wickets at regular intervals after piling on the pressure. Sonu Yadav and R Rajkumar took four-wicket hauls in the last two games. That will give them confidence to be able to defend any total their batsmen put up. TNPL 2016, Dragons vs Kaalai, Preview and Predictions
Dragons on the other hand, will be relying on N Jagadeesan and Ganga Sridhar Raju to get the majority of the runs. Their form has been a delight to watch. In the bowling department T Natarajan’s yorkers have been a real threat for the batsmen in the tournament. With spinners MS Sanjay, Murugan Ashwin and Ravichandran Ashwin, Dragons can can really keep the scoring in control. Ashwin’s captain will be interesting tow watch. They will want to put their 6-run loss against Chepauk Super Gillies, behind them. An interesting battle therefore, is in front of us. Will the Dragons spit fire, or wil Kaalai continue their magic.
Meanwhile, Scott Styris had some fruitful words to say on the tournament in an exclusive interview with tnca.cricket. “It has been fantastic and the standard of cricket has been great. The tournament is an opportunity for young players to come through and the tournament has most certainly done that,” he said. Speaking on players who could make it to IPL, he said, “Two in particular, but of course plenty of time for the others to step up as well. I have been impressed by power hitting of the openers especially, but N Jagadeesan has been phenomenal. There is also T Natarajan who is pretty impressive.”
Speaking on the youngsters, he said, “They just need to keep watching, learning and listening because there is a lot of experience around them. They will get an experience just by watching the bigger names in other teams play. If they keep learning and listening from the coaches and when they do get the chance, they’d need to make sure that they are ready to go. They will keep getting better because this is a step up because there is TV, camera, lights. These things will be new to some of these players and it is important that they keep learning.”
Speaking on the teams, he said, “The way they are playing, the LYCA Kovai Kings deserve to be arguably the second favorites in this competition. If that is the case, it will a good final between these two teams.” he also spoke on his Tamil Nadu trip so far. “I have absolutely loved the experience so far. I was a little bit nervous about coming to the districts but it has been easy and it has been great. It has also helped that we have been working everyday in doing this. So the weather has been fantastic, the hotels have been great and the people, very friendly.”
“It is a general impression that every crowd in India is very knowledgeable. That seems to be the advise from wherever we go. They respect players, more than anything. Most of them are knowledgeable and we do not get the same level of abuses for a player, especially as a foreign player coming to India when compared to Australia or England or South Africa. I think the players enjoy playing in India for this reason. If you do well, the crowd will applaud and if you play poorly, they look forward to your next match, he concluded.
Squads:
Karaikudi Kaalai: Srikkanth Anirudha (wk), M Vijay Kumar, Rajhamany Srinivasan, S Badrinath (c), R Rajkumar, Chandrasekar Ganapathy, Suresh Babu, R Sonu Yadav, K Vishal Vaidhya, Shoaib Md Khan, S Mohan Prasath, A Jerome, S Lokeshwar, M Shajahan, Santha Moorthy, S Sujay, S Swaminathan, Sunil Sam, Kiran Akash, M Abhinav.
Dindigul Dragons: N Jagadeesan (wk), Ganga Sridhar Raju, Ashwin Venkataraman, Murugan Ashwin, R Vivek, Subramania Siva, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Sunny Kumar Singh, VRS Guru Kedarnath, MS Sanjay, T Natarajan, Wilkins Victor, S Abishiek, Adithya Arun, S Dinesh, D Prashanth Prabhu, S Shyam Sundar, M Silambarasan, ME Yazh Arun Mozhi, K Mukunth.
