Who won yesterday's TNPL 2022 match, SMP vs LKK - Eliminator?
The Eliminator of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) saw Siechem Madurai Panthers lock horns against Lyca Kovai Kings at the SCF Cricket Ground in Salem.
Madurai captain NS Chaturved won the toss and elected to bat first. The decision backfired, as their openers in V Aaditya and Arun Karthik struggled. The Panthers scored 34 at the end of the powerplay, losing one wicket.
Their batters never got going, as the Kovai Kings’ bowlers bowled brilliantly. Karthik remained unbeaten on 47 but took 51 deliveries as the Panthers only managed only 126. The Kovai Kings picked up seven wickets, with Abhishek Tanwar and S Ajith Ram bagging two wickets apiece.
The Kovai Kings, meanwhile, got off to a solid start. Ganga Sridhar Raju and J Suresh Kumar played some outstanding strokes at the top of the order as the Kings scored 41 at the end of the powerplay without losing any wicket.
Raju and Kumar were going strong on 49 and 20 respectively as they both put 72 between them in 9.5 overs before rain arrived. No further play was possible. The Kovai Kings were ahead by 20 runs and won the game by DLS to stay alive in the competition.
Lyca Kovai Kings (LKK) knock Siechem Madurai Panthers (SMP) out of TNPL 2022
Lyca Kovai Kings beat table-toppers Nellai Royal Kings in their last league game in TNPL and continued their momentum. A solid performance with the ball helped them restrict Siechem Madurai Panthers to a low total, and their openers then stepped up to keep their team alive. They look a solid unit and will look to repeat their performance in the second qualifier.
Madurai Panthers looked a stronger unit coming into this game but failed to fire. Their batters failed to adapt to the conditions, and as a result, the team were knocked out of the competition. Their bowlers have done most of the work in this year’s competition, but a lack of contribution from the batters came back to haunt them in the TNPL playoffs.