LKK VS ITT QUALIFIER 1

Right then, that is it from the exciting Qualifier 1 of the Tamil Nadu Premier League. It was Lyca Kovai Kings who won this and cemented their spot in the finals to be played on 4th August. IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans lost the game but the benefit of being a part of the first Qualifier is that the losing team gets another chance of making it to the finals if they win Qualifier 2 which will be played on 2nd August. Their opponents in the second Qualifier will be the winning team of the Eliminator which will be played between Chepauk Super Gillies and Dindigul Dragons at this same venue. The first ball of the Eliminator will be bowled at 7.15 pm IST (1.45 pm GMT) on 31st July but our coverage will start much earlier. Do join us for another exciting game. For now, WASHINGTON SUNDAR IS ON A HATTRICK! Sri Lanka are collapsing again from a dominant position. Quick! Switch tabs and tune in to our coverage of the 3rd T20I which is being played between India and Sri Lanka in Pallekele. Goodbye and cheers!

Victorious Lyca Kovai Kings captain, SHAHRUKH KHAN, seems pretty composed and says that this was expected from Sudharsan, even though he was not in touch. Praises Mukilesh for his knock as well. On the mindset chasing 201, Khan says that personally, he felt that in the earlier matches, the team was not following the process. But in this game, even though they conceded 200 runs, they were following the processes and despite the fact that it is the highest score conceded by them in this tournament, he lauds his team. On Sudharsan's knock, he terms it as unbelievable as the wicket was tough to bat on against one of the best bowling sides in the competition. Details that to score a century on this track against this attack is phenomenal and is feeling very happy for him after a sorry phase during the league stage. On the possibility of a hattrick of titles come Sunday, Shahrukh evades the question and just focuses on following the process. Eventually, he admits that there is plenty of talk on social media regarding the hattrick of titles for his team but adds that the players are just not thinking about it and only concentrating on playing good cricket in the final.

Lyca Kovai Kings' SAI SUDHARSAN HAS BEEN NAMED AS THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH. Is humbled by the praise and calls it a big honour to be able to contribute to the win. On being informed that he had not hit a single six this TNPL before this game, Sudharsan admits that he was realizing that he was not getting the runs but trusted his process and eventually, it paid off. On the ever-increasing required rate, Sai said that it was all well planned and he was just trying to hang on till the 15th over and then capitalize in the end. On his move to attack Sai Kishore in the 17th over, Sudharsan says that he had got into a groove and just got through with the strokes, smiling with the luck involved in his dropped catches. Thanks the crowd for its unrelenting support and reminds the presenter to laud U Mukilesh for his innings as well.

IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans skipper, Sai Kishore, admits that 200 was a very good score on this wicket, praising everyone in his team. But also lauds the way Sai Sudharsan and U Mukilesh batted and says that Tiruppur will learn from this and come back stronger. Agrees that at this level, one cannot be repeating the mistakes. Puts his name on top of that list and says that he himself realized that he was committing the same mistakes he had committed earlier. Feels that in such games, luck is a big factor. Had a couple of chances gone their way, things could have been different but quickly says that Lyca Kovai Kings were the better team on the day. Cheekily adds that presently Lyca are the best team in the tournament but come the final, the law of averages could go against the team and IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans could be victorious. Believes that everyone in his team is committed and excited and cannot wait to make it to the final.

... THE PRESENTATION ...

Earlier, the IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans' openers, Amith Sathvik V P and Tushar Raheja dominated the Powerplay and set a solid foundation for the rest of the batters to build on. Their dismissals put Tiruppur back in the middle phases but S Mohamed Ali gave an explosive end to take them to 200 on the board. For Kovai, apart from M. Siddharth and Jhatavedh Subramanyan, none of the others were economical. Shahrukh Khan got a wicket but he too seemed to be having an off day with the ball.

IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans had a dream start to their innings as P Bhuvaneswaran struck on the very first ball of the innings. They bowled well later on as well but the batters put the pressure on the fielders with their quick running. With two quick wickets after the Powerplay, they snuck back into the game but couldn’t follow it up with more. Their fielding was not up to the mark and the errors proved costly as Sai Sudharsan got to his century while destroying their bowling attack. They will be kicking themselves for not grabbing his wicket. After the 15th over, all the bowlers were taken to the cleaners and they dropped their shoulders as even after being ahead for most of the game, they ended up on the losing side. They will now have one last chance to make it to the finals if they win Qualifer 2.

Lyca Kovai Kings suffered an early blow with the wicket of GV Vignesh. However, S Sujay and Sai Sudharsan handled the pressure well and made sure to minimize the number of dot balls. However, right after the Powerplay, they slipped from being 48/1 to 53/3 and that put a halt to the runs. From overs 7-15, Kovai scored 83 runs while losing two wickets which was similar to how Tiruppur performed in the first innings. Sudharsan and Mukilesh stabilized the innings and then switched gears while keeping the running strong. Sudharsan was given a few lives and he punished the bowlers accordingly. The 17th over of Sai Kishore was the game changer as their Kovai's Sai hit Tiruppur's Sai for three consecutive sixes and got the required run rate down by a significant margin. From there, there was no stopping the onslaught, as they hammered 71 in the last 23 balls!

That is a monstrous knock from Sai Sudharsan and a 148-run partnership between him and U Mukilesh has powered Lyca Kovai Kings to their third successive final in the Tamil Nadu Premier League. Sudharsan scored an unbeaten 123 off just 56 deliveries but crucially, he changed gears from being 49 (31) at one stage, to romp home. According to the on-air commentators, he hadn't hit a single six in this edition of TNPL but tonight, he got 9 sixes along with 9 boundaries. U Mukilesh played the anchor role and attacked when necessary, playing a pivotal role in this stand.

FOUR! LYCA KOVAI KINGS HAVE STORMED INTO THE FINAL WITH 7 WICKETS AND 7 BALLS TO SPARE! Another slower ball, short in length, Sudharsan reaches out and cracks the cut shot to the right of cover. The ball races away and the fans in Dindigul erupt in joy!

SIX! He is very calm person in reality but in the last 30 minutes or so, has become pretty violent! Slower ball, short in length, outside off, Sai Sudharsan reaches out and slaps a cut over the leaping fielder at deep cover! Just 4 more needed from 8 balls now!

SIX! Unbelievable shot. Full, on middle, Sudharsan gets under it and lofts it straight back past the bowler. Not much elevation but plenty of power and it clears the fence!

Would have been a wide had that been left alone. Slower ball, wide outside off, on a length, U Mukilesh reaches out and gets a bottom edge, which goes towards short third. A run taken.

Yorker, outside off, Sai Sudharsan squeezes it to deep point for a single.

After 18 overs, Lyca Kovai Kings are 183/3. At the same stage, IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans were 174/3. P Bhuvaneswaran returns. 3-0-18-1 so far. An over under 10 will put pressure on Kovai.

Full, around off, Sai punches it down to long on for a run and retains the strike. 14 from the over, 53 in the last 3! 4-0-36-0 for Natarajan tonight.

FOUR! Cheeky! 19 needed from 13 balls. Slower ball, fuller in length, on middle, Sai Sudharsan gets across and laps it over short fine leg.