MATCH REPORT
Follow UsNellai Royal Kings and Lyca Kovai Kings locked horns in the 6th match of the Shriram Capital Tamil Nadu Premier League at SNR College Cricket Ground.
B Sachin got out for a duck after Nellai Royal Kings asked the defending champions to bat first. Sonu Yadav dismissed him in the second over of the match.
Despite losing a wicket early, Lyca Kovai Kings continued their dominance with the bat as B Sai Sudharsan and J Suresh Kumar added a 66-run partnership for the third wicket, before the latter fell to M Poiyamozhi after making 33 (24).
R Ram Arvindh then played a perfect second fiddle for Sudharsan, as the duo added 68 runs for the third wicket. Poiyamozhi dismissed him for 18 (23).
Sudharsan continued where he left off in the last game. The youngster scored back-to-back half-centuries. On his way to the 11th TNPL half-century, he also became the orange cap holder for this year.
Unfortunately, the left-handed batter fell ten runs short of a well-deserved century as he was run out in the 19th over of the match for 90 (52).
Shahrukh Khan added 17 runs from 8 balls and fell in the following delivery to M Poiyamozhi, who ended with three wickets and became the Purple Cap holder of the tournament. In the 20th over, Mukilesh smashed two fours and a six to end with 15*(5). His cameo helped the team reach 181/6 in the 20 overs.
Chasing 182 to win, the Nellai Royal Kings faced a setback in the 1st over when their captain, KB Arun Karthik, fell for a duck. K Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, who opened the bowling for the Lyca Kovai Kings, ended with 1/1 in the 1st over.
The opener, R Sri Neranjan, was the impact player for the Nellai Royal Kings today. He joined hands with G Ajitesh to add 76 runs for the second wicket. The partnership included a 17-run over off Gowtham.
Neranjan anchored the innings well by providing strike to the in-form Ajitesh. He made 25 (29) before getting out to Jhathavedh Subramanyan. Ajitesh, on the other hand, got to his half-century in 33 balls. He continued to attack from one end. Rithik Easwaran did not disturb the scoreboard much in today's game, as he got out for just three runs to Shahrukh.
The dangerous Sonu smacked a six off Subramanyan in the second delivery he faced to release the pressure.
Nellai Royal Kings got to their 100 in the 14th over. However, the team found it tough to find boundaries. Sonu Yadav kept finding the fielders. Later, he got out bowled to L Kiran Akash in the 17th over. His dismissal added more pressure on Ajitesh.
With 38 needed from 18 balls, the team had to go for everything. Mohammed, who was playing his 50th TNPL match, trapped SJ Arun Kumar in the front and gave up just five runs in the 18th over.
The Nellai Royal Kings needed 33 runs from 12 deliveries. Ajitesh kept swinging hard and launched Akash's second delivery for a six. R. Mithun and Ajitesh also ran for everything. The duo was quick between the wickets. They even ran three runs once.
G. Ajitesh became the first player to score a century in the Shriram Capital Tamil Nadu Premier League in 2023. He brought up his maiden TNPL century with a six over the long-on boundary. The penultimate over was fruitful for the chasing team. They made 18 runs, including two big sixes.
The Nellai Royal Kings needed 15 runs in the final over. Shahrukh turned to M. Mohammed. Mithun played his part well, as gave the strike back to the in-form Ajitesh in the first delivery.
Ajitesh responded with a slog six in the next ball. Mohammed's third delivery was in the block hole, which Ajitesh smashed back at the bowlers' end, but the ball hit the stumps at the non-strikers' end, forcing the team to take a single.
In the following delivery, Ajitesh got out for 112 (60) when he tried to get back the strike from Mithun. Poiyamozhi replaced Ajitesh in the middle and pulled one over the fence in the next ball to level the scores.
Shahrukh Khan brought the fielders in for the deciding delivery. Mohammed bowled one at the block hole. However, Poiyamozhi managed to get some bat to it and complete the single before the fielder could throw the ball. He took the team over the line as the Nellai Royal Kings won by four wickets.
Ajitesh, POTM for today's game, said, "I always believed that we would win this game. Even though I got out before the final two deliveries, I had hopes about Poiyamozhi, and he fulfilled them."
Lyca Kovai Kings captain Shahrukh Khan said, "This is one of the best TNPL matches I have played. Sudharsan was good once again. We have one win and one loss and will look to win the remaining matches."
The winning captain, Arun Karthik, said, "Just like the IPL, this game was a thrilling contest. People will expect games like this. Since Nidhish Rajagopal was injured, we had to push Ajitesh up the order, and he lived up to the expectations."
The Coimbatore phase of the Shriram Capital Tamil Nadu Premier League ends with this game. The tournament will now move to the Dindigul phase. The tournament will resume on Sunday with a doubleheader at NPR College Grounds. Salem Spartans and Ba11sy Trichy will meet in the first game of the Dindigul Phase. The Dindigul Dragons will take on the Siechem Madurai Panthers in the second game on Sunday.
(Image and Match Report Courtesy: TNPL)
