Published: Sep 03, 2016, 12:48 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 03, 2016, 12:53 PM (IST)
In what may be a clash of equals on Saturday at TNPL at Sankarnagar, Tirunelveli, as Karaikudi Kaalai (KK) will face Tuti Patriots (TP). It may be noted that KK has not won a game yet in TNPL while TP have won and lost one each. TP bowled well in their opener against Chepauk Super Gillies (CSG) and were impressive to say the least. But they lost the plot post skipper Dinesh Karthik’s departure for the Duleep Trophy. Their fortunes with the bat plummeted as was evident in their evisceration against Kovai Kings (KK) as they were all-out for 95. The in-form Abhinav Mukund (who will join the team for this match) is expected to add muscle to the batting. ALSO READ: Subramaniam Badrinath to captain Hyderabad team
Also, Washington Sundar has been impressive but then he needs to convert his starts to big scores. Coming to bowling and Akash Sumra, Aushik Srinivas and Aswin Crist were impressive and stuck to a tight line while Lakshmipathy Balaji led the attack. TP need their middle-order to hit form and wrest back the winning momentum. KK on the other hand will be desperate to get a win in this one. Subramanium Badrinath, their skipper, is the best man to inspire them. But then the team also needs the junior players to chip in and assist the seniors.
Apart from M Vijaykumar, R Srinivasan and R Rajkumar no other batsman has looked impressive. It will be interesting to see as to how they perform as a collective unit. Sonu Yadav, who took four wickets in the previous game against CSG, is a big find for KK. He was good in the death overs and gave important breakthroughs.
The clash between Sonu Yadav and Mukund is one to watch out for. Mukund is in good form and can help Patriots score big in the early overs.On the other hand, Yadav will be high on confidence after his four-wicket haul in the last match. ALSO READ: Match Report: Abhinav Mukund leads India Red to 219-run win against India Green in Duleep Trophy
Subramanium Badrinath, who is skipper of KK, addressed the media on Friday ahead of the Saturday’s TNPL match and mentioned, “There is no special strategy as of such, but we need to address some issues. I don’t want to reveal what we are planning to do. There will be some different plans and combinations that we have been working on. In the last two games our bowling has not been up to the mark. In the first game too we batted well and posted a decent score only to lose in the end. Two bad overs plus an excellent knock took the match away from us. It is not only about skill level but also about pressure. It is a big stage for the boys who are very young and with live telecast and all they are nervous! It is all about handling pressure with mental strength.”
He was also unhappy with the performance of the senior players and mentioned, “I and Anirudha (Srikanth) haven’t fired in the first two games. But then we still managed to score about 160. Also, in the second game, we could have scored much more with one good partnership. The seniors deserve praise for it and if the others start chipping in we will start winning more games. We definitely are a good team.”
The form of M Vijaykumar is one positive for KK. The way R Rajkumar played in the first match was tremendous. However, spinners have not done the part for KK so far. R Srinivasan also has been batting well and is performing his duties efficiently. KK had made a recent change to their side for replacing injured Sunil Sam and SS Santhamurthy, a fast bowler, to find his spot in KK. He has played for Swaraj Cricket Club earlier. Having played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) before, Badrinath will look to share the tricks of the trade and lead the young side.
Whereas, TP’s Lakshmipathy Balaji had different thoughts for his side playing in TNPL. With unavailability of Karthik, it is indeed tough for TNPL’s TP batting unit. Mukund will be shining point for TP as he can go all guns blazing for the side. TP lost the match against Kovai Kings by 9 wickets. The only batsman who stood out for their innings for TP was Sundar for his knock of 43. ALSO READ: Murali Vijay, Ravichandran Ashwin and others picked in TNPL 2016 draft
The side is a good mix of young and experienced players and would look to pose challenges for the other seven side playing in the league. Meanwhile, TP’s Sundar has made huge strides, after his exploits for India U-19 helped them reach the World Cup finals. He is an all-rounder who is technically gifted with the bat. He can steady an innings in the middle order and also bowls handy off-breaks. He hopes to create an impression.
He considers Virat Kohli as the idol in T20 cricket and considers his shots to be the ideal way to go ahead in this format. Having been under the guidance of Rahul Dravid, the young man has surely proven his worth in TNPL and has bright chances to break through in IPL soon. However, he will be upset as he will not have his senior player Karthik due to injury but had found solace under Balaji and Mukund, who come with immense experience playing for India and First-Class cricket as well.
TUTI Patriots: Umashankar Sushil(w), Siddarth Ahuja, Akash Surma, Kaushik Gandhi(c), Subramanian Anand, Aswin Crist, V Athisayaraj Davidson, Aushik Srinivas, Lakshmipathy Balaji, M Ganesh Moorthi, V Lakshman, Maaruthi Raghav, Abhinav Mukund, SP Nathan, G Nicul Anand, R Sathyanarayan, R Vishaal, Washington Sundar
Karaikudi Kaalai: S Badrinath(c), Srikkanth Anirudha, A Jerome, S Lokeshwar(w), M Shajahan, Santha Moorthy, R Sonu Yadav, S Sujay, S Swaminathan, K Vishal Vaidhya, Sunil Sam, M Vijay Kumar, Suresh Babu, Rajhamany Srinivasan, Shoaib Md Khan, R Rajkumar, S Mohan Prasath, Kiran Akash, Chandrasekar Ganapathy, M Abhinav
