MATCH REPORT
Follow UsLyca Kovai Kings defeated Ba11sy Trichy by six wickets in the second match of the doubleheader on Wednesday at the NPR College of Engineering and Technology Cricket Ground, Dindigul.
Lyca Kovai Kings opted to field first and had things under control right from the start. The pitch seemed slower than it was in the previous game, and the batters found it difficult to time the ball. M. Siddharth made good use of the conditions. He dismissed Akshay Srinivasan in his first over. In his second, he rattled Mani Bharathy and Darryl Ferrario in consecutive deliveries.
Jafar Jamal, who opened the inning for Ba11sy Trichy in previous games, came in at number four. Ganga Sridhar Raju was at the non-strikers' end when M. Siddharth had a dream run with the ball. He had to wait for his opportunity to score runs. The experienced opener added an important partnership of 25 (15) with Jafar Jamal. The latter fell for 11 (9).
While wickets tumbled at the other end, Ganga Sridhar Raju kept the scoreboard ticking. He got to his half-century in 50 deliveries. The opener got out to Shahrukh Khan after making 58.
R Rajkumar found three boundaries and two sixes for his 31* and took Ba11sy Trichy to 117/6 in their 20 overs.
Lyca Kovai Kings bowlers did their job well today. As a result, Ba11sy Trichy played 70 dot deliveries. M. Siddharth was the pick of the bowlers with 3/13. V. Yudheeswaran, on the other hand, was extremely economical but was unlucky to go wicketless. He ended with 0/8 in his four overs. Shahrukh Khan bowled three overs and had figures of 2/15.
Chasing 118 to win, the Lyca Kovai Kings had a slow but steady start to the inning. Ragupathy Silambarasan began the 2nd inning with a maiden over.
Lyca Kovai Kings openers added 31 runs for the first wicket. When Suresh Kumar got out for 9, Sai Sudharsan joined S. Sujay. The youngster has been in the form of his life and is the current Orange Cap holder. However, he could not do much in today's game. The left-handed batter got out for seven runs against Daryl Ferrario.
Ferrario came back in the ninth over to dismiss Ram Arvindh. His spell made things difficult for the defending champion. Though they could not find boundaries, Lyca Kovai Kings kept the dot ball percentage low compared to Ba11sy Trichy. At the end of the 10th over, the team needed 59 runs with seven wickets in hand.
S Sujay paced his innings according to the situation. The opener kept going even though he did not have enough support from the other end and got to his half-century in 47 deliveries. Later, he helped the team reach 100 in the 17th over.
Needing only 18 runs to win, S Sujay unleashed himself to hit a four, six, and four off consecutive deliveries in the 18th over. The Impact player for Lyca Kovai Kings, Atheeq Ur Rahman, finished off the innings with a boundary to give Lyca Kovai Kings a six-wicket victory.
Lyca Kovai Kings stay in the second spot with three wins and a loss from their four matches. Ba11sy Trichy are in the seventh position and is still in search of their first victory.
After winning the Player of the Match award, S. Sujay said, "I played my game without any pressure. I know our team had attacking batters like Sai Sudharsan and Shahrukh Khan. So I don't have to panic. Also, the total was not big enough."
After the loss, Ba11sy Trichy captain Ganga Sridhar Raju said, "Even though we tried hard not to lose wickets in the powerplay, we could not. Since we lose 2-3 wickets inside the powerplay, we are finding it difficult to get big scores. In the next game, we will rectify our mistakes and look to win matches."
After the win, Lyca Kovai Kings captain Shahrukh Khan said, "We are trying to execute our plans without any pressure. Our team has a good understanding, and this helps in many ways. I will try to bat up the order in the upcoming games.
Nellai Royal Kings and Salem Spartans will meet in the 13th match of the Shriram Capital Tamil Nadu Premier League. Nellai Royal Kings won their first two matches before losing their last game to the iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans. Salem Spartans lost their opening match to Chepauk Super Gillies but bounced back well to defeat Ba11sy Trichy in their previous game.
(Image and Match Report Courtesy: TNPL)
