Tamil Nadu T20 League 2023

Final: LKK vs NRK

Preview

The big game is just a day away from the beginning. Lyca Kovai Kings and Nellai Royal Kings will enter the finals of the Tamil Nadu T20 League 2023 on Wednesday, July 12. The Indian Cement Company Ground in Tirunelveli will host the match from 7:15 PM onwards. The defending champions Kovai Kings qualified for the finals beating Dindigul Dragons in the 1st Qualifier while the Royal Kings put up a firecracker display in the 2nd Qualifier against the Dragons to cruise to the finals. 

LKK have had a perfect season so far and have lost only one match this year. They also have a good record against NRK as they managed to defeat them four times during their last five matches. These stats will work as a confidence booster along with their thumping win in the last league game. This is the final match and they have to play with caution as the stakes will be high for both sides and the fans can expect a high-voltage encounter on Wednesday. 

The Kovai Kings are the joint title winners and it was well deserved as the side has still now lived up to the expectations. They lost only one match in this league season and have entered the finals with a 30-run win over the Dindigul Dragons in Qualifier 1. Though the only matter of concern for them is their sole loss came in the league stage against the Royal Kings and they need to keep that in mind. 

S Sujay and J Suresh will look forward to creating a good partnership to give their side a perfect start. A small disadvantage is that they will miss their star batter Sai Sudharsan who is selected for India’s tour of the West Indies, but will try to comply with the power of B Sachin, U Mukilesh and captain Shahrukh Khan who is in good touch. Atheeq Ur Rahman and Ram Arvindh will come in the lower order to complete the batting line-up. 

Thamarai Kannan and Manimaran Siddharth have to make good use of the new ball given the firepower they are up against. Skipper Shahrukh Khan has also bowled well in the whole tournament and is the third-highest wicket-taker in the league. Along with M Mohammed, Jhatavedh Subramanyan and Valliappan Yudheeswaran in the supporting role, they need to pick frequent wickets and keep the net run rate under check. 

NRK entered the finals with a firecracker show against the Dindigul Dragons in the 2nd Qualifier. They would try to learn from the positives after their excellent show with the bat in the previous match. They are the only team to defeat the Kovai Kings earlier in the league stage of this season and will try to get inspired from that performance to yield a similar performance in the final stage to win their first-ever Tamil Nadu T20 League title. 

Arun Karthik is in sublime touch and along with P Sugendhiran will try to produce a brilliant start for their side. Ajitesh Guruswamy, the top run scorer in this tournament played a match-winning knock in the last encounter and will be relied on to deliver in the middle order along with Rithik Easwaran and Nidhish Rajagopal. Sonu Yadav, NS Harish and Laxmesha Suryaprakash will add the extra needed firepower to the batting order.

The Royal Kings will be worried about just one thing i.e. the form of its bowlers. This has been their biggest weakness in this league season. All eyes will be on Sandeep Warrier and Sonu Yadav and they must bowl well as the Lyca Kovai Kings have a super strong firepower. NS Harish and Mohan Prasath are the ones to deliver in the middle overs. M Poiyamozhi and Lakshay Jain S will be vital aspects of bowling in the supporting role. 

Match Details

Match: LKK vs. NRK, Final, Tamil Nadu T20 League 2023

Date: Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Time: 7:15 PM

Venue: Indian Cement Company Ground, Tirunelveli

Pitch Report

The pitch at the Indian Cement Company Ground will assist the spinners. They are going to come in handy in the middle overs with lots of turns available on the surface. The captain winning the toss will look to chase the target, with 160 runs being a respectable total at the ground.

In recent games, the pitch has slowed down a bit, allowing bowlers to have more of an impact on the outcome. The new ball should do nothing early on,  and allow batters to get their gaze in and try out their favourite shots to accumulate good runs in the powerplay overs.

LKK vs. NRK Squads

LKK: Atheeq Ur Rahman, R Divakar, K Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, Kiran Akash, M Mohammed, U Mukilesh, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan (c), Manimaran Siddharth, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, S Sujay, J Suresh Kumar, Valliappan Yudheeswaran, P Hemcharan, KM Om Prakash, Ram Arvindh, P Vidyuth, B Sachin

NRK: Adithya Arun, Ajitesh Guruswamy, Arun Karthik (c), Aswin Crist, Rithik Easwaran, NS Harish, Karthick Manikandan, R Mithun, S Mohan Prasath, M Poiyamozhi, Nidhish Rajagopal, Sandeep Warrier, Sonu Yadav, Sri Neranjan, P Sugendhiran, Laxmesha Suryaprakash, SJ Arun Kumar, Emmanuel Cherian, N Kabilan, Lakshminarayanan Vignesh, Lakshay Jain S, T Veeramani

LKK vs. NRK Probable Playing XIs

LKK: Shahrukh Khan (c), S Sujay, J Suresh Kumar (wk), B Sachin, Ram Arvindh, Atheeq Ur Rahman, U Mukilesh, M Mohammed, Manimaran Siddharth, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Valliappan Yudheeswaran

NRK: Arun Karthik (c), Laxmesha Suryaprakash, Ajitesh Guruswamy, Rithik Easwaran (wk), Nidhish Rajagopal, Sonu Yadav, NS Harish, M Poiyamozhi, S Mohan Prasath, Sandeep Warrier, Lakshay Jain S 

Match Prediction

The Nellai Royal Kings put on a terrific show in their previous game and that was a result of their batters shining. Though they have a weaker bowling attack and haven’t proved in any of the games, throwing away runs. On the other hand, have destroyed their opponents in most of the matches. They have good momentum in their squad. Their bowling side has also shined in recent matches. We expect a close call in the final encounter but the defending champions’ LKK shall start as the favourites to win this match. 

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