CHENNAI: It was a repeat of Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, as the Tamil Nadu Premier League Eliminator between iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans and Vida Kovai Kings was abandoned due to persistent rain on Monday. After a back door entry to the qualifiers, the Tamizhans were put into bat first, as the Kovai Kings put on a great show with the ball.

While Amith Sathvik got the innings underway with a boundary, it was Kovai Kings’ bowlers, Deeban Lingesh and Manimaran Siddarth, who responded beautifully. The left-arm spinner only conceded one run in the second over before Deeban bowled a testing third over, nearly hitting the stumps. Just before rain dampened the mood, Sathvik put away a loose delivery for a boundary.

Two hours later, rain returned, as the match was abandoned. With the match called off without a result, Vida Kovai Kings advanced to Qualifier 2 by virtue of finishing third in the league-stage points table, ahead of Tiruppur. Kovai Kings will now face Trichy Grand Cholas in Qualifier 2 on August 26, with the winner earning a place in the TNPL 2026 final.

“It feels good to qualify, though we would have preferred to play out the game and earn the result. Our strong net run rate made the difference. During my lean patch, those crucial knocks at Chepauk helped me regain rhythm and confidence. I focused on patience and staying mentally fresh rather than overthinking,” Vida Kovai Kings’ skipper Shahrukh Khan said.