NEWS
Follow UsDefending champions Lyca Kovai Kings began their Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2023 campaign with a thumping 70-run victory over iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans in the first match at Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science Cricket Ground, Coimbatore.
Lyca's captain Shahrukh Khan led the bowling department from the front as he ended with 3/20. Mohammad picked up on 2/11 as well. Tushar Raheja and NS Chaturved opened the inning for iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans, but the partnership didn't last long as Chaturved got out for just 4(2). Vishal Vaidhya, the impact player for iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans, added 16 (17) before Shahrukh Khan trapped him in front of the wicket.
The experienced Mohammed then bowled the game-changing over, picking up the crucial wickets of both Vijay Shankar and Sai Kishore. The wickets continued to tumble at one end for iDream Tiruppur Thamizhans, and at the other end, Tushar Raheja tried hard to gather runs. The wicketkeeper mustered 33 before involving himself in a run-out.
Earlier, after being asked to bat, Lyca Kovai Kings' Sai Sudarshan lit up the stadium with an impressive 86 (45), ably supported by Mukilesh (33 off 33 balls) and captain Shahrukh Khan (25 off 15 balls). The defending champions made 179/7 in their 20 overs.
Vijay Shankar, who returned to bowling after a long time, was the pick of the bowlers for the iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans. The all-rounder bagged his best figures in the league (3/26), including two wickets in two balls. The iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans captain, Sai Kishore, was brilliant as well. He ended with 2/24, including the prized scalp of Shahrukh.
However, both Sai Kishore and Vijay Shankar failed to replicate their performance with the bat as the iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans faced a humiliating defeat by 70 runs in the opening match.
After the win, all-rounder Mukilesh said, "While batting, we wanted to stay calm and bat till the end. We knew that even if one of us stayed till the end, we would get a good score. Thankfully, we were able to do that".
Talking about his performance after winning the Player of the Match award, Sai Sudarshan said, "I'm glad to contribute to the team. My partnership with Mukilesh was an important one; as we lost wickets early, we wanted to stay calm and take the game deep, and it worked out well for us".
The losing captain of the day, Sai Kishore, appreciated Sai Sudarshan's performance.
"We felt that we lost the momentum in the middle overs. Sai Sudarshan batted well and took the game away from us. Still, I thought it was a good batting surface. We have experienced players in the team, and we will bounce back from this loss".
Lyca Kovai Kings' captain Shahrukh Khan said: Our strength is that we have players who featured in the last season as well. Today, Sai Sudarshan's partnership with myself and Mukilesh helped us reach a good total.
(Match Report: TNPL)
