TNPL 2022 Digest:
PLAYOFFS Diaries: The TNPL 2022 continued it’s journey with the playoffs being hosted in Salem at Salem Cricket Foundation Grounds and at Coimbatore in Sri Ramakrishna College Grounds. We have had some terrific cricketing moments and matches happened at the venue and let’s review each of them.
Rain helps Lyca advance to Qualifier 2 of TNPL 2022.
ELIMINATOR: Siechem Madurai Panthers (SMP) vs Lyca Kovai Kings (LKK).
Date and Time: 26 July 2022 at 7:15 PM IST
A cracking contest which was no short of entertainment, the one who had the last laugh were the dominant in the game. Lyca Kovai Kings after getting qualified to the Eliminator of TNPL 2022 faced the 2018 champions, Siechem Madurai Panthers. Madurai Panthers won the toss and elected to bat first and had one change in left arm medium pacer V Gowtham coming in for R Mithun. Lyca Kovai Kings fielded an unchanged side from their last game against Nellai Royal Kings. V Aaditya and KB Arun Karthik made their way into the middle and started off well with a 33 run partnership off 32 balls with V Aaditya making 17(16) when he was dismissed by Balu Surya caught by Abhishek Tanwar at backward point. Anirudh Sita Ram and Arun Karthik joined in the middle and soon Anirudh departed for a paltry score of 7(12) dismissed by Ajith Ram. KB Arun Karthik made a patient and valiant 47*(51) but he was running out of partners as the batters from the other end started losing out themselves to the Lyca bowlers. Ajith Ram was the star of Lyca bowling with figures of 4-0-24-2. Madurai ended their innings at 126/7.
KB Arun Karthik of SMP against Lyca Kovai Kings
Source: TNPL Website
Abhishek Tanwar of LKK against SMP
Source: TNPL Website
In reply, Lyca openers GS Raju and J Suresh Kumar came for the chase of 127 runs to seal a spot in the Qualifier 2. The duo started slow but then started the bang-bang game where they started to punish the Madurai bowlers. Ganga Sridhar Raju was the lead striker with 49*(20) with Suresh Kumar providing equal support in 20*(21). They built a partnership of 72 runs in 9.5 overs when the rain gods interrupted the game. The interruption went to an extent wherein the DLS method had to come into play and LKK were 20 runs ahead of SMP’s score at the cutoff time of 9.5 overs. LKK were declared winners and progressed to the Qualifier 2 of TNPL 2022.
Ganga Sridhar Raju of LKK against SMP
Source: TNPL Website
Suresh Kumar in action against SMP
Source: TNPL Website
Scoreboard: Siechem Madurai Panthers 126/7 in 20 overs (KB Arun Karthik 47*(51), J Kousik 17(14), V Aaditya 17(16), S Ajith Ram 2/24, Abhishek Tanwar 2/31) lost to Lyca Kovai Kings 72/0 in 9.5 overs (Ganga Sridhar Raju 49*(20), J Suresh Kumar 20*(21)).
Player of the Match: Ganga Sridhar Raju (Scoring 49*(20))
Chepauk trump Nellai to enter finals of TNPL 2022.
QUALIFIER 1: Nellai Royal Kings (NRK) vs Chepauk Super Gillies (CSG).
Date and Time: 27 July 2022 at 7:15 PM IST
A tough contest played between the giants of the teams in TNPL 2022, only one had the last laugh to get into the ultimate clash in the tournament. Chepauk Super Gillies won the toss and elected to field first and had no changes to their lineup from the last match. Nellai Royal Kings had two changes in debutant Karthik Manigandan coming in for Sri Neranjan and Jitendra Kumar coming in for Rooban Raj. Nellai openers NS Harish and L Suryapprakash started for their team but soon had NS Harish depart to an extra bounce delivery from M Siddharth caught by R Satish at backward point. Baba Aparajith joined Suryapprakash in the middle and the duo put on a 36 ball 47 run partnership before Suryapprakash gave himself to Siddharth plumb leg before the wicket. The Nellai players couldn’t build on partnerships as CSG bowlers were constricting their run flow and were picking wickets at intervals. Young sensation from Nellai, Ajitesh, got out in a bizarre manner when he ran himself out without a proper call to the striker Indrajith. Sanjay Yadav, who is in the form of his life, also contributed less than what he would constantly do and lost the plot soon. Nellai finished on 140/10 in 20 overs. For the CSG, Siddharth, Warrier and Sonu Yadav finished with 2 wickets apiece.
Baba Aparajith in action vs CSG
Source: TNPL Website
M Siddharth with an economical spell
Source: TNPL Website
CSG came out in pursuit of the target of 141 runs to book a spot in the finals. CSG started worse with Jagadeesan and Radhakrishnan dismissed in the space of 2 balls by Athisayaraj Davidson, the former caught off a thick edge by Aparajith in slips and the latter caught by Jitendra Kumar off a top edge. Sai Kishore joined hands with Kaushik Gandhi in the middle and the duo revived the sinking ship of CSG with a sizzling partnership of 78 runs in 56 balls with Sai Kishore contributing the most with 43(27) laced with 2 boundaries and 4 sixes to his name. He was dismissed by debutant leg spinner Karthik Manigandan who owned the night with figures of 4-0-14-3. He first removed Sai Kishore, topped it with U Sasidev leg before the wicket and completed with removing the big fish Kaushik Gandhi caught by G Ajitesh at deep mid-wicket. Interestingly, his spell was so special despite having hand drenching dew in the ground. CSG were in deep trouble when their score read 95/5 in 15 overs when veteran R Satish came for the rescue act. He played the attacker’s role in scoring 31*(19) balls laced with 4 fours and 1 six and took the game away from the Nellai Royal Kings and CSG qualified for the finals of TNPL 2022.
Kaushik Gandhi’s dedicated knock vs NRK
Source: TNPL Website
Sai Kishore’s sizzling knock
Source: TNPL Website
Karthik Manigadan’s day out vs CSG
Source: TNPL Website
Scoreboard: Nellai Royal Kings 140/10 in 20 overs (Baba Aparajith 33(31), M Shahjahan 25(13), M Siddharth 2/14, Sandeep Warrier 2/20) lost to Chepauk Super Gillies 141/5 in 19.2 overs (R Sai Kishore 43(27), Kaushik Gandhi 40(46), K Manikandan 3/14, A Davidson 2/21).
Player of the Match: R Sai Kishore (Scoring 43(27) and spell of 4-0-28-1)
Lyca Kovai Kings brilliant counter attack makes them enter finals of TNPL 2022.
QUALIFIER 2: Nellai Royal Kings (NRK) vs Lyca Kovai Kings (LKK).
Date and Time: 29 July 2022 at 7:15 PM IST
In what was the most enthralling and nerve wracking match of the TNPL 2022, Lyca Kovai Kings went past Nellai Royal Kings to enter their maiden finals in TNPL history. Lyca Kovai Kings won the toss and opted to bowl. They had no changes to the playing XI of their last match. Nellai had one change in Sri Neranjan coming back for Jitendra Kumar. Nellai openers Sri Neranjan and Suryapprakash started positively with Sri Neranjan taking the dominating role and played a stellar innings of 34(21) laced with 2 boundaries and 3 sixes when Shahrukh Khan applied the brakes and removed Sri Neranjan plumb before the wicket. Baba Aparajith joined Suryapprakash in the middle and the duo put on 30-bal 34 run partnership when Sai Sudarshan dismissed Suryapprakash caught comfortably by Suresh Kumar behind the stumps. Hero of Nellai Royal Kings in the TNPL 2022, Sanjay Yadav, joined hands with Baba Aparajith and put on a 43-ball 88 run partnership with Sanjay Yadav scoring 55(26) laced with 7 towering sixes and Aparajith contributing 44(33) with 1 boundary and 3 sixes to his name. Both of them were dismissed in the span of 2 runs in 4 balls by Abhishek Tanwar and G Manish respectively. Young sensation Ajtesh then launched an impossible attack and frustrated the opponent bowling with a cracking innings of 38(13). Nellai finished on 208/6 in 20 overs. For Lyca, Abhishek Tanwar and G Manish contributed with 2 wickets each to their name.
Sanjay Yadav of NRK against LKK
Source: TNPL Website
Baba Aparajith of NRK
Source: TNPL Website
Abhishek Tanwar of LKK
Source: TNPL Website
Out came the Lyca openers in pursuit of the chase to clinch their spot in the finals in J Suresh Kumar and GS Raju. They put on a 20-ball 36 run partnership with Suresh Kumar scoring 21(12) laced with 2 boundaries and a six and got dismissed by K Easwaran who rattled his stumps. GS Raju followed suit soon when he nicked one to Indrajith behind the stumps bowled by Aparajith. Shijit Chandran didn’t contribute and returned back to the pavilion when the deadly combo of Sai Sudarshan and Shahrukh Khan joined. They put on 27-ball 63 run partnership with both of them coming out all guns blazing against the Nellai bowling attack. Just when they were progressing well, the star of Qualifier 1, K Manikandan came and wreaked havoc again. He first dismissed Sai Sudarshan caught comfortably by Aparajith and followed up with removing Mukilesh caught by Ajitesh. He further laced it with another wicket in Abhishek Tanwar when he caught him off his own bowling and almost dismissed Shahrukh Khan but he stepped outside the bowling popup crease which was called as no-ball and that turned things haywire for Nellai who went on to face the brutal attack of Shahrukh Khan who completed the formalities for the Lyca Kovai Kings and took his team to their maiden finals.
Sai Sudarshan in ravaging form against NRK
Source: TNPL Website
Shahrukh Khan spitting fire against NRK
Source: TNPL Website
Karthik Manikandan in form against LKK
Source: TNPL Website
Scoreboard: Nellai Royal Kings 208/6 in 20 overs (Sanjay Yadav 55(26), Baba Aparajith 44(33), A Tanwar 2/34, GR Manish 2/43) lost to Lyca Kovai Kings 209/8 in 20 overs (Shahrukh Khan 58*(24), Sai Sudarshan 53(33), K Manikandan 3/46, K Easwaran 2/30).
Player of the Match: Shahrukh Khan (Scoring 58*(24))
Lyca Kovai Kings and Chepauk Super Gillies joint champions of TNPL 2022.
FINALS: Chepauk Super Gillies (CSG) vs Lyca Kovai Kings (LKK).
Date and Time: 31 July 2022 at 7:15 PM IST
Stadium: Sri Ramakarishna College Cricket Grounds, Coimbatore
In what was an anticlimactic end to the tournament, CSG and LKK were declared joint winners for the first time in the history of TNPL. Chepauk Super Gillies won the toss and elected to bowl first. Both teams remained unchanged from their last game. Lyca openers J Suresh Kumar and GS Raju started for their team and soon lost Suresh Kumar off a bouncer from Sandeep Warrier caught amazingly by N Jagadeesan. GS Raju and Sai Sudarshan then put on a 27-ball 41 run partnership with GS Raju dominating with tormenting shots to the boundary off M Siddharth and Sandeep Warrier. Sonu Yadav broke the partnership by removing GS Raju who gave it straight to the throat of M Siddharth. Sai Sudarshan then took charge of the innings by playing the dominating role and not letting the CSG bowlers take over him. He specially targeted Sai Kishore whom he whacked for three boundaries continuously in his first over. Mukilesh and Shijit Chandran fell in next-to-next balls offering themselves to Sai Kishore. Shahrukh Khan tried to build a decent partnership with Sai Sudarshan but soon fell himself to Sai Kishore’s web. Sai Sudarshan after a rescue act, fell to Sandeep Warrier who had his ultimate over fruitful by picking three wicekts and ending the innings with figures of 4-0-29-4. Lyca Kovai Kings finished on 138/9 and were in pursuit of defending this target to clinch their maiden championship.
Sai Sudarshan’s heroic effort vs CSG
Source: TNPL Website
Sandeep Warrier, hero of TNPL 2022 finals
Source: TNPL Website / Star Sports 1 HD
Sai Kishore’s brilliant spell vs LKK
Source: TNPL Website
In pursuit of the target for the championship, out came the CSG openers in N Jagadeesan and Kaushik Gandhi. The LKK bowlers made it a mandate that the CSG batters should not score runs or set them down by hitting boundaries. The fielding effort was top notch and they ticked every box possible for the opposition to feel the heat. Ajith Ram struck first with this first ball in the final removing Kaushik Gandhi off a splendid quick reflex catch from Yudeeshwaran at mid-on. Jagadeesan then struggled big time and was dismissed by Yudeeshwaran in the 4th over when the rain gods came into play. The DLS score at 5 overs was 32/2 but LKK had no luck as CSG were 18 runs behind and LKK didn’t have the opportunity to bowl the 5th to take the championship home. The rain gods were merciless and the umpires had no choice but to declare the match as NO RESULT and as a result, both CSG and LKK were declared joint winners.
LKK players celebrating the first wicket
Source: TNPL Website / Star Sports 1 HD
Shahrukh Khan celebrating Jagadeesan wicket
Source: TNPL Website
CSG and LKK declared joint winners
Scoreboard: Lyca Kovai Kings 138/9 in 20 overs (Sai Sudarshan 65(42), GS Raju 27(17), Shahrukh Khan 22(!7), Sandeep Warrier 4/29, Sai Kishore 3/26) - Chepauk Super Gillies 14/2 in 4 overs (S Radhakrishnan 9*(11), N Jagadeesan 2(10), Kaushik Gandhi 1(3), S Ajith Ram 1/0, Yudeeshwaran 1/3). MATCH NO RESULT (RAIN)
Player of the Match: Sandeep Warrier (Spell of 4-0-29-4)
REVIEW OF TNPL 2022:
The Tamil Nadu Premier League 2022, in its sixth edition, for the first time had all its matches hosted outside the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. There were four districts in Salem, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore and Dindigul hosting the prestigious tournament and nonetheless to say, all four stadiums gave the best matches and made the tournament more interesting. The curators and groundsmen of these stadiums deserve a big salute for preparing the most sporting and interesting pitches which made the tournament much more interesting and better than the previous editions. Various new talents emerged in this tournament and this is the best platform for these youngsters to make a mark and take their journey to the state team or land a contract in the biggest T20 league, the IPL. From Suresh Kumar of LKK to Karthik Manikandan and Easwaran of NRK to Sunny Sandhu of SMP, various talents showed us why they are there to prove who they are. Based on the performances and stats, I would bring here the TNPL 2022 XI of the season:
(*) J Suresh Kumar (WK) – Lyca Kovai Kings – 398 runs at a S/R of 157.94 – 8 dismissals (6 caught behind, 2 run outs and 1 assisted run out)
(*) KB Arun Karthik – Siechem Madurai Panthers – 293 runs at a S/R of 127.39 with one century - 13 dismissals (3 catches, 7 caught behind, 3 run outs and 1 assisted run out)
(*) Baba Aparajith – Nellai Royal Kings – 396 runs at a S/R of 144.53 – 5 wickets at an economy of 8.41 – 8 dismissals (7 catches and 1 runout)
(*) Sanjay Yadav (C) – Nellai Royal Kings – 452 runs at a S/R of 186.78 with one century – 6 wickets at an economy of 8.06 – 4 dismissals (3 catches and 1 run out)
(*) G Ajitesh – Nellai Royal Kings – 129 runs at a S/R of 243.40 – 7 dismissals (7 catches)
(*) Shahrukh Khan – Lyca Kovai Kings – 187 runs at a S/R of 164.04 – 11 wickets at an economy of 8.38 – 8 dismissals (8 catches)
(*) Sunny Sandhu – Siechem Madurai Panthers – 8 wickets at an economy of 6.15 – 72 runs at a S/R of 146.94
(*) Sai Kishore – Chepauk Super Gillies – 111 runs at a S/R of 124.72 – 11 wickets at an economy of 6.04 - 5 dismissals (4 catches and 1 caught & bowled)
(*) Abhishek Tanwar – Lyca Kovai Kings – 17 wickets at an economy of 7.09 – 66 runs at a S/R of 160.98 – 2 dismissals (2 catches)
(*) Kiran Aakash – Siechem Madurai Panthers – 12 wickets at an economy of 8.11
(*) Sandeep Warrier – Chepauk Super Gillies – 11 wickets at an economy of 6.91
Bench:
(*) Sai Sudarshan – Lyca Kovai Kings – 336 runs at a S/R of 140.59 – 8 dismissals (7 catches and 1 run out)
(*) B Surya – Lyca Kovai Kings – 10 wickets at an economy of 6.03
(*) Ajay Krishna – Ruby Trichy Warriors – 7 wickets at an economy of 7.92
(*) Maan Bafna – iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans – 182 runs at a S/R of 107.06 – 6 dismissals (4 catches and 2 run outs)
(*) Rithik Easwaran (WK) – Siechem Madurai Panthers – 7 dismissals (3 stumpings, 3 caught behind, 1 run out and 1 assisted run out)
(*) Daryll Ferrario – Salem Spartans – 144 runs at a S/R of 107.46 – 3 wickets at an economy of 7.15 -
(*) Amit Sathvik – Ruby Trichy Warriors – 135 runs at a S/R of 109.76
