Having Vidyut as coach is a huge boost: Aparajith

"It is a huge boost for the side. He brings a lot of experience to the table. He knows the players very well since he has been involved with the state cricket for a long time. As a young team, we are thrilled to have him as a coach," said the 24-year-old.

Reflecting on his team's opening match defeat to Tuti Patriots, the batting mainstay said the key is to execute their plans. "We are looking back at areas where we did not do well in the opening match. The target of 190 was always going to be difficult, and they had a great bowling line-up too. Focusing on ourselves, we have our plans in place, now it is all about executing them on the field," he added.

Aparajith said his team was excited about playing in Dindigul, the venue for its next match. "It has always been a good batting wicket in Dindigul. The ball comes on nicely to the bat, so we are looking forward to playing here."

Aparajith sounded confident of overcoming the challenge of beating Karaikudi Kaalai. "We have watched their first match and we know their players well. They are a good team but again our focus will be on how we perform on the field and not think too much about whom we face."

Meanwhile, Karaikudi Kaalai's all-rounder Yo Mahesh shrugged off his team's agonising loss in Super Over to Kovai Kings. “It hurts to lose after being so close to a win. However, we are focusing on the positives from that game. We have quite a few young players in our squad, they have a fantastic opportunity to play together and we are excited about the upcoming game,” said the 30-year-old.

On his own batting, Mahesh said, "I had a good first-class season batting-wise but T20 is a different format and I play a different role for my team here. However, being an all-rounder, I will be happy to contribute with the bat as well. It depends on the team combination and the team management."

As for the lessons learnt from the defeat to Kovai Kings, Yo Mahesh said his team fell short by 10-15 runs in batting. “There are a few areas that we need to work on. Our batting in the end overs was not up to the mark. We were 10-15 runs short, else we could have definitely won the match.”