Published: Aug 26, 2016, 05:30 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 30, 2016, 07:05 PM (IST)
Greetings everyone! Welcome to CricketCountry’s live match coverage of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) Match No.3 between Lyca Kovai Kings and Ruby Kanchi Warriors. Both the teams will be playing in their first competition and would want to get off to a good start. A win would give them two points and the much needed kick to get their campaign off to a flyer. The clash between the two teams will take place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and it looks a promising one. Indrajith B will lead the Ruby Kanchi Warriors coming from the Kancheepuram district whereas Murali Vijay will be captaining the Lyca Kovai Kings representing the Coimbatore district. Stay tuned as we bring you all the live updates!
The return of Murali Vijay from the Caribbean where he was a part of India’s Test squad against West Indies, comes as a big boost for Lyca Kovai Kings. Vijay who is known as a opener has played for India in T20Is and also for Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League of which he was captain as well in last year’s edition. Vijay by the look of things will play in the first two matches of the TNPL after which he will move to play in the Duleep Trophy for India Green which is taking place in Greater Noida, with the Pink ball. He had suffered an injury to his thumb while playing in the first Test of the four-match Test series against West Indies at Antigua.
Vijay has a fantastic record in the IPL, having played 100 matches and scored 2511 runs at a strike rate of 123.39. His experience will count for a lot when he joins the Lyca Kovai Kings team.
Led by Vijay and coached by former South African cricketer Lance Klusener, Lyca Kovai Kings look a good team, full of energy.
Klusener had earlier said that his knowledge about Indian conditions will come in as an advantage for the team. He said, “I am obviously excited by the new challenge that’s in front of me. It is important to go out there with an open mind and be ready to work with the people who are available. Having played in India and coached there as well, I know what works on those conditions and that to me is big plus.”
On the other hand, mentored by one of the best fast bowlers in the history of cricket, Australia’s Brett Lee, Ruby Kanchi Warriors are a team to watch out for. Kousik J and Shahrukh Khan M are players, who have done well in the domestic competitions.
Kousik especially, known for his swing bowling and is knack of extracting that extra bounce from the pitch, has the chance to improve under Lee. He has played 7 First-class matches.
While, Indrajitjh like Syed Mohammed a part of Tamil Nadu’s Ranji team, their face off will be keenly watched as well. A batting all-rounder Indrajith will be wanting to make his name in the competition more so after his twin brother Baba Aparajith grabbed the limelight after he scored the first hundred of the Tamil Nadu Premier League and lead the VB Thiruvallur Veerans to a five-wicket victory over the Karaikudi Kaalai at Dindigul.
Mohammed, a left-arm spinner who has played in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), has represented Assam in th Ranji Trophy as well. Not only for his bowling but, Mohammed is also known to clear the ropes with his batting. He can score runs quickly and is a a fine all-rounder. He is a clever bowler too, and can keep it tight in the middle overs.
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Friday that Tamil Nadu players who are participating in the ongoing Duleep Trophy are allowed to play for their respective franchises in the inaugural edition of Tamil Nadu Premier T20 League (TNPL) as well. READ: BCCI allows players participating in Duleep Trophy to play in TNPL
Also, Dean Jones who is a part of the commentary team for the TNPL 2016, feels the tournament is a platform for young players to showcase their talent and get their share of limelight. Jones said, “It’s a stepping stone for some of these kids or the young guys who are part of the competition. I know that after the success of Pakistan Super League (PSL), there were a few players who got picked for the Pakistan team within a month. I am sure there will be at least 3-4 players who would pop up from TNPL and could go on to play other leagues as well,” as quoted by Cricbuzz.
After two matches played in the TNPL, the TUTI Patriots led by captain Dinesh Karthik are on top of the Points Table with two points and a net run-rate of +2.250. At second place, are VB Thiruvallur Veerans who also two points from one game and a net run-rate of +0.696.
Karaikudi Kaalai and Chepauk Super Gillies are at third and fourth place respectively, with no zero points on the points table. But with still a long way to go in the tournament, these teams have aq lot of time to regroup and find a way to climb up the Points Table.
Baba Aparajith at the end of two matches is now on top of the run-getters list with 118 runs. Karthik with 67 runs is next. And Srinivasan R of the Karaikudi Kaalai is at third. Among the wicket-takers Akash Sumra and Aushik Srinivas R of the TUTI Patriots team and Abhishek Tanwar of the VB Thiruvallur Veerans team, all have 3 wickets each.
Squads
Lyca Kovai Kings: Murali Vijay(c), Adhithya Giridhar, S Ajith Ram, Devendra Anchit, B Anirudh Sita Ram, B Arun, K Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, S Harish Kumar, Murugesan Kamlesh, M Mohammed, Ravi Kumar Rohith, Vijay Shankar, MK Sivakumar, Akshay Srinivasan, L Suryaprakash, JS Mohammad, S Tarun Srinivas, Krishnamoorthy Vignesh
Ruby Kanchi Warriors: Baba Indrajith(c), Jagannathan Kaushik, Rangaraj Suthesh, Adithya Ganesh, B Aditya, Akkil Srinaath, Anthony Mannays, Bharath Shankar, L Ganesh, Rajamani Jesuraj, Jagatheesan Kousik, Nilesh Subramanian, Murthy Prabhu, Alagh Prathiban, Ranjan Paul, Shahrukh Khan, S Siddharth, Trilok Nag, Krishna Varun Kumar
