Lyca Kovai Kings vs Madurai Super Giants, TNPL 2016, Match 10 at Tirunelveli, Preview and Predictions

One of the top teams of the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2016 Madurai Super Giants take on another top side Lyca Kovai Kings, in Match 10 at the Indian Cement Company Ground in Tirunelveli on Friday. The kings are definitely on a high, following their steady win over Albert Tuti Patriots in their previous tie, while the Super Giants are still winles,, and would desperately be looking for a win in this tie, as they aim to tame the Kings in their home venue. The Kings have so far played a couple of games, winning one and losing one. They lost their opening tie against Ruby Kanchi Warriors in the super-over, while they bounced back with a win against Patriots. TNPL 2016 Points Table & Team Standings

MK Sivakumar turned out to be the Man of the Match against Patriots as he claimed a brilliant hat-trick. The Kings responded well with the bat as well, as they managed to score a 94-run opening stand. Thus, the nine-wicket win boosted their confidence massively, along with Murali Vijay’s vital experience and inputs, he earned owing to his international exposure, as the Kings also aim to win their matches outside Chennai. LKK win by 9 wickets| Lyca Kovai Kings vs Albert TUTI Patriots, Live Updates

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The Giants on the other hand too have played a couple of games, as they have managed to lose both, in a closely fought tie. Although they possess the most players from the district, they don’t possess the same killer instinct as the other teams in the league. Muruganantham has been one of the impressive bowlers, as so has been M Raja. Considering their batting, their strength quite relies in both top and middle-order. Chepauk Super Gillies register their 1st win in TNPL

Despite a good gameplay, they lost their momentum against VB Thiruvallur Veerans in the closing stages of the game. Shijit Chandran has been impressive, while the return of Arun Karthik will also be a big boosts for the side, as they hope to come up with an improved performance, as a win here would also increase their confidence in the matches ahead. Muruganantham and Murali Vijay are ought to provide some good fight. Vijay is a good batsman against spin, Muruganantham has been impressive with his bowling, as he can bowl good leg spin even on batting tracks.

Meanwhile, Shijit Chandran of Super Giants said, “We were playing well, but lost the plot somewhere. If you look at our losses, we lost the last match [against VB Thiruvallur Veerans] by six runs and the previous match [against Dindigul Dragons] by 12 runs. We are making small mistakes here and there. If we correct that we will be able to get desired results.”

“We have strategies for every team, but obviously they haven’t worked well. We have few changes in strategies for next few games which I hope works in our favour. In the tournament so far, in the middle overs, all the teams are struggling. So we thought we can add some experience in our middle order, let’s see how it goes,” he added. Speaking on Arun Karthik, he said, “He has joined the team today — our star player is back! The captain for tomorrow’s game, though, is not decided yet.”

He also spoke about the ground and wicket by saying, “The ground has come out well. I have played here a few years ago, during my Under-14 days and during my U-16 district time. Compared to how it was during that time, the ground has undergone a lot of changes. There is a lot of wind and we will get to know how that will affect the game only after a match or two is over.The wicket looks good and hard; we can expect a lot of runs from this wicket. Maybe 160 or 170 plus. We haven’t played in Chennai yet, but Natham [in Dindigul] is a beautiful wicket. Here [Tirunelveli] also, the wicket looks good, but how it plays, we will know only after today’s game. The Chepauk wicket looks good, but it is on the slower side,” he concluded.