TNPL 2023

Tamil Nadu Premier League Match 8: Match Report

The eighth match of the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2022 on Thursday between Madurai Panthers and Lyca Kovai Kings turned out to be a nail-biter as Madurai Panthers came out victorious with just 2 balls to spare. Panthers’ Captain NS Chaturved was awarded ‘Player of the Match’ for his blistering knock of 75 runs in 45 balls.

With this win, the Panthers continued their winning run in the tournament after having won both of their games and also rose to the second rank on the points table.

On the other hand, the Kings’ search for their first victory of the tournament continues as they’ve now lost both their matches and are ranked 6^th on the points table. Earlier in the match, the Panthers won the toss and decided to bowl first. The decision of the captain was further vindicated by the bowlers as they restricted Kings for 151 runs.

Suresh Kumar was the top scorer with a quickfire knock of 46 off 22 balls. As wickets were falling continuously from one end, U Mukilesh held the innings together with his 50 off 38 balls. R Silambarasan was the pick of the bowlers for Panthers with his figures of 3 for 28 off his 4 overs. Sunny Sandhu and Kiran Akash picked up 2 wickets each.

Chasing the total of 151 for victory, Panthers got off to the worst possible start, losing 2 wickets in the very first over without adding any run on the board. Arun Karthik held the innings together with NS Chaturved adding 105 runs for the third wicket.

Once the partnership was broken, the Panthers lost wickets in quick succession and made ‘tough work’ of a seemingly easy target. Jagatheesan Kausik remained not out on 27 and guided the team, in the end, to victory. Captain Shahrukh Khan was the pick of the bowlers for Kings picking up 4 wickets for 14 runs. Abhishek Tanwar picked up 2 wickets for 22 runs.

Kovai Kings will face Salem Spartans on 6^th July in their third match.