MATCH REPORT
Follow UsIn-form Sai Sudharsan helped Lyca Kovai Kings defeat Dindigul Dragons by 59 runs in the first match of the doubleheader on Sunday, June 25th, at Salem Cricket Foundation Ground.
After being asked to bat first, Lyca Kovai Kings made the highest score of the Salem phase, smashing 206/5 in their 20 overs.
Suresh Kumar began the innings on a positive note. He smashed three fours in the first over. Notably, the opener made the most contribution in the powerplay and got out for 29 (17). The other opener, Sujay, followed him next, scoring 31 runs from 17 balls. He got out to Saravana Kumar in an eventful sixth over. The over went for 18 runs, but Saravana Kumar also dismissed Sujay and Ram Arvindh in the same over.
Sudharsan and Mukilesh began the partnership slowly, as they had to rebuild after the fall of consecutive wickets.
The duo took the team to 100/3 at the end of 10 overs. After the completion of the first half of the inning, the duo began to unleash. Ravichandran Ashwin broke the 85-run partnership in the 16th over. The Lyca Kovai Kings captain, Shahrukh Khan, joined in the middle. He allowed the in-form Sudharsan to take the maximum strike. The youngster got to yet another half-century in the tournament. On his way, he also became the 13th player to complete 1000 runs in the TNPL.
Sai Sudharsan scored 34 (15) in the 54 (26) partnership with his captain to take the Lyca Kovai Kings to 206/5.
Chasing a massive total of 207, the Dindigul Dragons lost Rahul in the 2nd over. Baba Indrajith also fell early. The Dindigul Dragons' batters tried to score off every single delivery but failed to connect well. As a result, they kept losing wickets. Dindigul Dragons found themselves at 13/3 in their four overs.
Boopathi Kumar then smashed a couple of fours and a six to move to 17 (9). Unfortunately, the Dragons needed them regularly as the required run rate mounted above 13.
Shivam Singh showed some glimpses of hope with his aggression at one end. However, the opener did not have any support to keep the chase alive. The team was reduced to 58-5 at the end of 10 overs.
After 12 overs, Shivam Singh and Sarath Kumar found boundaries regularly, but those weren't enough for the Dindigul Dragons to win the match. Shivam Singh raced from 33(30) to 60(39) with 3 sixes and a four. He got out after a fine innings of 61 (42) against Shahrukh Khan. The all-rounder has bagged nine wickets with an economy rate of six.
In the end, Gowtham Thamarai Kannan closed the Dindigul Dragons' innings with 3/18 to dismiss the Dragons for 147. This is the first loss of the tournament for the Dindigul Dragons. Now, all the teams have lost at least one match in the TNPL 2023. Lyca Kovai King moves to the top of the table.
After the win, Lyca Kovai Kings captain Shahrukh Khan said: It feels good to win against a strong team like the Dindigul Dragons. The way our team's batters took on their bowlers showed our team's strength. Especially Sai Sudharshan, who has done well to give us a win once again.
After the loss, Dindigul Dragons captain Ravichandran Ashwin said, To be honest, Lyca Kovai Kings batted well. The conditions still supported the batters well, but our top-order batters couldn't do much. We were outplayed. We just had a bad day. We shouldn't analyse it much and move on to the next game.
The player of the match, Sai Sudharsan, said: This win has given us huge confidence. It was really nice to score against international bowlers like Ashwin and Varun. I don't think much about my record; I just want to contribute to the team.
(Image and Match report courtesy: TNPL)
