Published: Sep 13, 2016, 01:07 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 13, 2016, 06:10 PM (IST)
Greetings everyone! Welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of Match 26 of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2016 between Dindigul Dragons (DDD) vs Lyca Kovai Kings (LKK) at Indian Cement Company Ground, Tirunelveli. After few gripping and grueling matches already being played in the inaugural season of TNPL 2016, the tournament is almost on the verge of shifting to the eliminators with just a few games left in the group stages. DDD have qualified for the semi-finals but LKK have a must win game in hand as there are three teams sitting at 6 points with a match left. Seeing the scenario of the standings, an interesting match looks on the cards between both teams. ALSO READ: TNPL 2016: CSG thrash VTV by 41 runs
DDD have enjoyed good success in the tournament so far winning their first four matches rather convincingly but lost their fifth match against table-topers, Chepauk Super Gillies (CSG). DDD’s only loss was against CSG as they came back hard against Karaikudi Kaalai (KK), winning it by seven wickets. It was a convincing performance by DDD, in absence of regular skipper, Ravichandran Ashwin. Ashwin missed out on this game but will be happy with the performance of his boys as they were right on the money with both bat and ball.
On the other hand, if we look at LKK’s run so far, they have lacked consistency. LKK played the first eliminator of TNPL 2016 and lost it against Ruby Kanchi Warriors (RKW). LKK went on to win their next three outings. They gained some momentum back and just when they had to go for the final push to get over to the next round, they failed in the last two clashes. LKK lost against KK by 36 runs whereas came second in a nail biting match against VB Thiruvallur Veerans (VTV) by a whisker of two runs.
Chasing 171 to win, LKK’s innings was guided well by a B Anirudh Sitaram’s 63 along with a steady knock of 46 off 26 balls by S Harish Kumar. LKK looked on course to post their fourth win and get close to the knockouts, or confirm their places, but lost the plot in the last match. Needing 13 runs off 6 balls, LKK succumbed to a tight over bowled by Rahil Shah. He was ably complimented by Ramalingam Rohit and Lakshmi Narayanan who took two wickets apiece along with Rahil. ALSO READ: DDD vs LKK, Live Streaming: Watch TNPL 2016, Match 26, Live telecast on TV
LKK have only themselves to blame for not seeking a place or confirming their place in the next round so far as they have done reasonably well but lost in some crunch match situations. The ploy will be simple for LKK. They will look to nail the match comprehensively and seal a place in the semis. If they earn those two points and get it bettering their net run-rate (NRR), they will feel more secure.
The idea should be to take every game as a must win now and give no chances to the opponents. KK and TUTI Patriots (TP) are breathing down LKK’s neck with equal number of points in six games. TP, in particular, have up their game and will come hard against Madurai Super Giants (MSG). They also have one more advantage of knowing what exactly they have to do for a qualification in knockouts as they have their game after DDD finishes with LKK, later in the evening.
Apart from TP, KK are also still alive in the tournament with a game left against RKW. An important thing to note here is that TP and KK have another small edge over LKK as they have their remaining matches against two weak teams who have no chance of a qualification in upcoming round. However, LKK are facing a team who will be itching to finish the league at the top spot.
Seeing all this, LKK have a steep mountain to climb. Nonetheless, a must win game brings out the best from a good team and this is their chance to prove themselves in the inaugural edition of TNPL 2016. They have got good starts from their top-order. The only big-hitters they can rely on are R Rohit amd Tarun Srinivas. M Mohammed is an excellent bowler for them and can lead from the front. There are other bowlers who chip as well but none who have been fruitful enough.
Coming to DDD, they have a perfect balanced unit. N Jagadeesan and Ganga Sridhar Raju who took KK by storm on Sunday will be expected to fire up once again against Kings. Wilkins Victor also contributed with a fifty in the middle-order. T Natarajan and Murugan Ashwin did their bit with ball and this time around if Ashwin makes a comeback for this game, it will cause more worry in the line-up of LKK.
TNPL so far has been a success with many matches going down to the wire. The crowds have started pouring in with every passing week and is all set for a grueling finale of the league matches before the tournament gets to the business end. TNPL aims at giving exposure to players through T20 league. The league attracted a lot of attention featuring former Australian opener Matthew Hayden and New Zealander Scott Styris in South Indian attires during the promotional activities.
It is considered as a Mini-IPL seeing the format of the league. With India’s star players Ashwin, Murali Vijay and Dinesh Karthik joining hands with the league, it will be a boost to TNPL’s viewership and for the players. TNPL 2016 also boasts of former International players as coaches in the form of former South African Lance Klusner, Micheal Bevan and Brett Lee from Australia.
Squads:
Lyca Kovai Kings: Adhithya Giridhar, S Ajith Ram, Devendra Anchit, JS Mohammad(c), B Anirudh Sita Ram, Ravi Kumar Rohith(wk), B Arun, K Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, S Harish Kumar, Murugesan Kamlesh, M Mohammed, Vijay Shankar, MK Sivakumar, Akshay Srinivasan, L Suryaprakash, S Tarun Srinivas, Krishnamoorthy Vignesh, Murali Vijay
Dindigul Dragons: N Jagadeesan(wk), Ganga Sridhar Raju, Subramania Siva(c), T Natarajan, Sunny Kumar Singh, Ashwin Venkataraman, Wilkins Victor, S Abishiek, Murugan Ashwin, Adithya Arun, S Dinesh, VRS Guru Kedarnath, D Prashanth Prabhu, MS Sanjay, S Shyam Sundar, M Silambarasan, R Vivek, ME Yazh Arun Mozhi, K Mukunth, S Raghunath, Ravichandran Ashwin
