NRK vs ITT Prediction: Who will win today's TNPL 2021 match?
Match 10 of the 2021 Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) sees the Nellai Royal Kings take on the IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Neither team has had a perfect start to this year's TNPL, but the Royal Kings took a massive step towards finding some rhythm in their second game of the tournament against defending champions Chepauk Super Gillies. They chased down 166 in a thrilling game that went down to the last over, mere days after being rolled over for 77 by the Ruby Trichy Warriors.
The Tamizhans had a stroke of luck in their first game of TNPL 2021. After being on the ropes at 64/7 against the Super Gillies, rain intervened to gift them a point. However, the second game exposed the weaknesses in their squad as the Salem Spartans recorded a 16-run win.
The Royal Kings are currently placed sixth in the TNPL 2021 points table with a net run rate of -1.749, while the Tamizhans are dead last with -0.8. Both teams will look to move up the standings with a win in Match 10.
NRK vs ITT Prediction: Can the Tamizhans turn their miserable start to TNPL 2021 around?
The IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans seem devoid of inspiration in both departments. While the bowlers have been fairly economical in most phases of the innings, wickets have been hard to come by. And the top order has faltered in both games so far, leaving the middle-order batsmen with a lot of work to do.
R Rajkumar and Gowtham Thamarai Kannan were decent with the new ball, but they were guilty of bowling a few too many boundary balls in the powerplay. Captain M Mohammed was the second-most expensive bowler in the previous game, proving that the Tamizhans' worries start from the top. Mohan Prasath and Aswin Crist were decent in their first spell of TNPL 2021, but the team has a lot to correct.
S Dinesh, N Mohammed Ashik and S Aravind simply couldn't get going in the game against the Spartans. And although Maan Bafna and Francis Rokins put on a decent fourth-wicket partnership, the rest of the middle order had too much on their plate.
The Nellai Royal Kings seemed to be heading down a similar path after being skittled in their first game of TNPL 2021, but roared back superbly. Athisayaraj Davidson has been superb, with Ajith Kumar and NS Harish supporting him well. Leg-spinner Mohan Abhinav lost the plot briefly against the Super Gillies, but he picked up two wickets.
The biggest positive for the Royal Kings from their win over the Super Gillies was the return to form of Pradosh Ranjan Paul. The highly rated youngster had a miserable outing in the first game, but he essayed a classy maiden TNPL fifty to win the Man of the Match award. With Baba Aparajith, Baba Indrajith, Sanjay Yadav and Laxmesha Suryaprakash in decent nick as well, the Royal Kings seem to have all bases covered.
The Nellai Royal Kings are the overwhelming favorites for this game against the IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans. While Mohammed has match-winners at his disposal, they may not be able to put together a complete performance so early in the tournament.
Prediction: Nellai Royal Kings to win Match 10 of TNPL 2021