Tamil Nadu T20 League 2023

Qualifier 1: LKK vs DD

Preview

Finishing in the first and second position in the Tamil Nadu T20 League 2023 points table, Lyca Kovai Kings and Dindigul Dragons will cross swords for the 1st Qualifier of this tournament. The winning side among these two teams will find their place in the final and the other has to face the winner of the Eliminator 2. Both teams won six out of their seven group stage matches and the only difference among them was the Net Run Rate, thus it will be an extraordinary fight between the league table toppers. The match is scheduled at the SCF Cricket Ground at Salem on July 7 at 7:15 PM.

In the absence of their star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin due to national duty, Dindigul Dragons still seem to be a very strong side. Their skipper Baba Indrajit is in sublime touch this season and with the presence of Varun Chakravarthy, the team will be strong and cannot be ignored. Subodh Bhati also performed well in the previous match and thus the Kovai Kings need plans that work on their middle order. 

On the other hand, the Sharukh Khan-led Dindigul Dragons have played wonderful cricket so far in this tournament. Youngster B Sachin and Suresh Kumar are in great form with the bat and Manimaram Siddharth has been excellent with the ball. Another player who has impressed is Balliapan Yudheeswaran.

Match Details

Match: LKK vs. DD, Qualifier 1, Tamil Nadu T20 League 2023

Date: Friday, July 7, 2023

Time: 7:15 PM

Venue: SCF Cricket Ground, Salem

Pitch Report

The venue for the Qualifier 1 is the SCF Cricket Ground in Salem. This is the same stadium where the Lyca Kovai Kings defended 206 runs against the Dindigul Dragons. The 1st innings average score here on this ground is 144 runs and for the specific match 185-190 should be the par score for winning the match.

The captain choosing to chase the target has won 4 out of the 8 games on this ground. The pitch is well-balanced and by looking at the current form of both sides, we capitalise on bowling first to chase down a total on this venue.

LKK vs. DD 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

DD: Adithya Ganesh, Advaith Sharma, S Arun, Affan Khader, VP Diran, Hemanth Kumar, Baba Indrajith (c), G Kishoor, M Mathivannan, P Saravana Kumar, Shivam Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vimal Khumar, Suboth Bhati, Rohan Bhutra, Boopathi Kumar, C Sarath Kumar, ME Tamil Dhileepan, P Vignesh, Rahul, Aushik Srinivas

LKK vs. DD Probable Playing XIs

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

DD: Vimal Khumar, Adithya Ganesh, Baba Indrajith (c & wk), Boopathi Kumar, Suboth Bhati, C Sarath Kumar, P Saravana Kumar, M Mathivannan, Varun Chakaravarthy, Aushik Srinivas, G Kishoor

Match Prediction

Both sides are on a winning streak and have their players in exceptional touch. This battle will be the DD batting unit vs the LKK bowling unit. While one of the sides has successfully defended scores, the other has chased the target like a pro. The Kovai Kings still seem to be in a better position with none of their players missing. Hence we fancy LKK to win this match against DD.

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