Lyca Kovai Kings book maiden TNPL Final berth with a win over NRK

Lyca Kovai Kings pick up a memorable win

Lyca Kovai Kings entered their first-ever TNPL final with a resounding two-wicket win over Nellai Royal Kings in the second Qualifier of the tournament on Friday, July 29. They will now face the defending champions Chepauk Super Gillies on Sunday in the final battle of the league. 

Shahrukh Khan continued his imperious run of form

Chasing the mammoth target of 209 runs, skipper Shahrukh Khan held his nerves and played a match-winning knock of 58* off just 24 balls to guide his team to a thrilling victory with two wickets in hand. His blistering knock was studded with 4 fours and 5 sixes.

Sai Sudharsan was equally destructive with the willow as the left-hander smashed a 33-ball 53 to put his side in a commanding position. 

However, his dismissal in the 15th over brought the opposition back into the game as the Kovai Kings were left reeling at 136/4.

Skipper Shahrukh stood firm and pulled his team out of trouble by scoring runs at a brisk rate. 

Abhishek Tanwar also played a breezy and valuable cameo of 9-ball 23 down the order.  

Earlier G Sridhar Raju (24-ball 28) and J Suresh Kumar (12-ball 21) got the Kovai Kings' off to a flyer by putting up a 36-run stand for the 1st wicket. 

The rest of the batters capitalised on their starts and kept the scoring-rate high to dash the hopes of the Royal Kings to feature in the finals. 

For NRK, the two-match-old Karthick Manikandan once again emerged as the most successful bowler with figures of 3/46. K Easwaran and Baba Aparajith also bagged two wickets each.

Top knocks by Sanjay Yadav & Baba Aparajith guides NRK to 208/6 

Earlier, the Royal Kings posted 208 for the loss of six wickets after being asked to bat first. Sanjay Yadav continued his stellar show with the bat and top-scored for his team with a 26-ball 55, while Baba Aparajith plundered 44 runs as the duo shared 88 runs stand for the third wicket. 

R Sri Neranjan and L Suryaprakash empowered the team with a decent start, having smashed 34 and 25 runs respectively. 

However, it was G Ajitesh who gave the finishing touches to their innings as he scored a quickfire 38 from 13 balls to help his side breach the 200-run mark.

Among bowlers, Abhishek Tanwar and Manish Ravi grabbed two wickets each and they were well supported by Shahrukh Khan and Sai Sudharsan, who claimed a wicket apiece. 

Brief Scores: 

Nellai Royal Kings: 208/6 (20 Overs) 

R Sanjay Yadav 55 (26), Baba Aparajith 44 (33); Abhishek Tanwar 2-34 (4), Manish Ravi 2-43 (3) 

Lyca Kovai Kings: 209/8 (20 Overs) 

Shahrukh Khan 58 (24)*, Sai Sudharsan 53 (33); Karthick Manikandan 3-46 (4), K Easwaran 2-30 (4)

Lyca Kovai Kings won by 2 wickets. 

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