In a scintillating TNPL 2024 opener, Lyca Kovai Kings held their nerve for a 13-run win against Chepauk Super Gillies at Salem. The match was lit with brilliant performances, and Balasubramaniam Sachin’s knock handed him the Player of the Match award.
Kovai Kings Set a Modest Target in TNPL 2024 Opener
Lyca Kovai Kings won the toss and chose to bat first. They set a target of 141/7 in the 20 overs. The team had a shaky start as Suresh Kumar was out early, having made only four runs before he got caught by Aparajith and bowled by Tanwar. S Sujay also went soon afterward, off Tanwar for 6, making it 13/2 in 3 overs for Kovai Kings.
Balasubramaniam Sachin provided the resistance with a fighting 63 from 53 balls, laced with eight boundaries, and kept Kovai Kings alive despite regular loss of wickets. It was the tale of another dismal batting collapse. Captain M Shahrukh Khan went for 8, run out, and U Mukilesh contributed an invaluable 31 off 25 balls. Sachin batted through the innings, and his steady knock ensured they had a defendable total despite losing wickets at regular intervals. Abhishek Tanwar was the pick of the bowlers for Chepauk, with figures of 4 for 26 in his four overs.
The Shortfall in Chase
Chepauk Super Gillies’ chase got off to the worst possible start when D Santhosh Kumar, who had not scored a run, was out caught by Mani Bharathy off the bowling of Gowtham Thamarai Kannan in the very first over. Narayan Jagadeesan and captain Baba Aparajith then attempted to restore some semblance of normalcy in the innings by adding some value in the middle order, with a stand of 56 for the second wicket.
Jagadeesan scored 18 from just as many balls before getting bowled by Mohammed. The right-hander played a captain’s knock, making 38 off 29 balls before his dismissal—caught by Sachin off Shahrukh Khan—put Chepauk at 60/3, inside the 10th over. Wickets kept falling, and Pradosh Ranjan Paul tried to keep the chase alive with a steady 40 off 32 balls before retiring.
However, the lower order couldn’t cash in on their efforts. Daryl Ferrario got stumped by Suresh Kumar off Subramanyan for two and Jitendra Kumar was run out for 14. Little contributions came from Abhishek Tanwar, scoring seven off three balls, but Chepauk Super Gillies ended with a mere 128/6 in 20 overs.
Jhathavedh Subramanyan was the most economical bowler for Kovai Kings, giving away only 11 runs in his four overs for a wicket. Gowtham, Mohammed, and Shahrukh Khan each picked up a wicket.
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