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That's all from us for now. The second game of the night will start in just a bit. Do not miss out on that. For now, this is Arya, Pradeep & Bala signing off. Good-bye!
With that victory, Lyca Kovai Kings move to the top of the table. They have four wins from five outings and have a healthy net run rate of 1.763. Not only have the Dragons lost two points, but their net run rate has also taken a pounding with this heavy defeat.
Sai Sudharsan is the Player of the Match!
Manimaran Siddharth: Much needed win this, all credit goes to the team. Plan is simple for me, just try and pick wickets and contain the runs. We're working hard on the fielding, it's coming out nicely. We always wanted to keep it simple, just work on the plans, happy that it's coming through.
When you lose more than a couple of wickets in the powerplay, you will fall behind in the game, more often than not. The Dragons lost four today, and that too while chasing a target of over 200 runs. They fell well behind right from the outset and were always playing catch-up. The opening spell from Manimaran Siddharth and Thamarai Kannan broke the top-order apart and brought the Kings right on top.
Siddharth trapped Rahul in front of the stumps in the second over of the game. And the loss of the in-form Baba Indrajith in the next over was just the one they couldn't afford at the stage. Opener Shivam Singh could only be a spectator as he kept on losing his partners at the other end.
It was 51 runs on the board in the 9th over when the Dragons lost their skipper Ravichandran Ashwin. M Sarath Kumar joined Shivam Singh in the middle and gave the side some much-needed impetus. The duo scored 77 runs in a little more than 7 overs with Shivam Singh completing his half-century during the process. However, the asking rate was climbing up rapidly and the side had lost too many wickets too early to afford any chance.
Skipper Shahrukh Khan came into the attack in the 17th over and dismissed both the set batters in the same over. It was then only a matter of time before the lower-order folded. The only question was how close they can get to the Kings' total, but they fell well short in the end, taking a heavy hit to their net run rate.
Manimaran Siddharth was the pick of the bowlers for the Kings. He bowled tight lines, giving the batters hardly any room to work with. He ended with figures of 2 for 26 in four overs. Jhatavedh Subramanyan showed a lot of promise with his wrist-spin. He conceded just 8 runs in his first three overs, but conceded 21 in the final over. His figures still reads a respectable 1 for 29.
Thamarai Kannan led the seam attack well, hitting the hard lengths and asking questions. He picked up three wickets including that of in-form Baba Indrajith. Shahrukh Khan picked up a couple and M Mohammed picked up one.
Lyca Kovai Kings win by 59 runs!
19.1 K Gowtham Thamarai Kannan to P Saravana Kumar, OUT! ALL OVER FOR KINGS! What a thumping win from Lyca Kovai Kings as Dindigul Dragons taste their first defeat of the tournament. Length delivery on the leg-stump, Saravana hoicks it but finds the fielder at deep backward square-leg.
P Saravana Kumar c Valliappan Yudheeswaran b K Gowtham Thamarai Kannan 8 [6b, 0x4, 1x6]
K Gowtham Thamari Kannan [3-0-18-2] will bowl the final over of the match.
Last man walking out to the middle. It's VP Diran, RHB, for the Dragons.
A mighty six from Saravana Kumar, but it is too little too late for the Dragons. Another one back in the hut and it seems all but sure that the net run rate of the side is going to take a hammering after this game.
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SCF Cricket Ground, Salem
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