CHENNAI: Lyca Kovai Kings jumped to the top of the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2023 table after posting a 59-run win over Dindigul Dragons in Salem on Sunday.
Invited to bat first at the Salem Cricket Foundation Ground, Kovai put a mammoth total of 206 for five on the board, riding on B Sai Sudharsan’s brilliant 83 (41 balls, 8 fours, 4 sixes). In the second essay, the Kings bowling unit, led by pacer Gowtham Thamarai Kannan (3/18 off 3.1 overs) and leftarm spinner Manimaran Siddharth (2/26 off 4 overs), bundled Dragons out for 147 in the last over of the match.
Kovai is atop the standings with eight points from five matches while Dindigul, which suffered its first defeat of the season, is third with six points off four games. In the first innings, No.3 Sai Sudharsan, who has been in sublime form since the beginning of the tournament, raised his fourth half-century of the season.
Combining forces with U Mukilesh (34 off 33 balls, 2 fours) when the Kovai scorecard read 67 for three in the sixth over, Sai Sudharsan accumulated 85 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership. The southpaw then stitched 54 runs in quick time alongside skipper Shahrukh Khan (18 not out) to help Kings get past the 200-run mark. Sai Sudharsan brought up his fifty after he struck a four over fine-leg off pacer Saravana Kumar in the 17th over.
S Sujay (31 off 17 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) had provided the Kovai team a flying start, adding 49 runs in five overs for the first-wicket alliance with Suresh Kumar (29 off 17 balls, 6 fours). Later, Gowtham and Siddharth picked up two wickets each in the powerplay to leave Dragons struggling at 25 for four in the fifth over. DD could never recover from the horror start, despite opener Shivam Singh’s (61 off 42 balls, 2 fours, 5 sixes) fluent half-century.
Sarath Kumar, in at No.7, reduced the margin of defeat with a 25- ball 36 (3 fours, 2 sixes). Speaking after guiding his team to a convincing win, ‘Man of the Match’ Sai Sudharsan said: “I wanted to bat deep. Before matches, I try to save as much energy as I can. I try to keep it simple and do not complicate things. Playing in the Indian Premier League has given me a sense of confidence and more clarity.”
BRIEF SCORES: Lyca Kovai Kings 206/5 in 20 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 83, Saravana Kumar 2/49) bt Dindigul Dragons 147 in 19.1 overs (Shivam Singh 61, Gowtham Thamarai Kannan 3/18, Shahrukh Khan 2/16, Manimaran Siddharth 2/26)