Tamil Nadu Premier League | LKK vs DD | Preview, Prediction, Probable XI, CREX XI

Lyca Kovai Kings will finally get their 2022 campaign underway against Dindigul Dragons in Match 5 of the Tamil Nadu Premier League. We are still in the initial stages of the tournament, as Lyca Kovai Kings remain one of the few teams to yet kick start their campaign.

Ruby Trichy Warriors handed Dindigul Dragons a convincing eight-wicket defeat in their first game of the season. However, they will be eager to learn from their mistakes in the first game and register their first points on the board. Dindigul Dragons had a pretty decent campaign last time, where they finished third after losing to Chepauk Super Gillies in Qualifier 2.

Lyca Kovai Kings will look to settle the score with Dindigul Dragons, who defeated them in the Eliminator last season. The only positive for the Dragons to take away from their defeat in the first game was the contribution made by the lower-batting order. K Monish and Vignesh put on a 31-run stand for the seventh wicket, giving the Dragons something to bowl at.

Lyca Kovai Kings have named a strong squad spearheaded by skipper Shahrukh Khan. Left-arm pacer T Natarajan will have an opportunity to impress the selectors after being left out of the T20I team for the South African and Ireland series. Sai Sudharsan will also play a massive role in his side's campaign, as he amassed 358 runs in eight innings last season at an average of over 70.

Hari Nishanth, the Dindigul Dragons skipper, was the tournament's top run-getter last year. He mustered 368 runs in nine innings at an average of 40.89. After scoring just 25 odd runs in the first fixture, the 25-year-old will look to put on a show on Sunday,

All teams are scheduled to play seven games in the group stage, with the top four teams making it to the playoffs. Hence, Dindigul Dragons will not want to fall behind with their second successive loss on Sunday. 

Match Details:

Match: Lyca Kovai Kings vs Dindigul Dragons, Match 5

Venue: Indian Cement Company Ground, Tirunelveli 

Date & Time: June 26 at 7:15 PM IST

Live Streaming: FanCode and Star Sports Network

Pitch Report: The wicket has been offering more assistance to the bowlers. The last few matches being played at the venue have been low-scoring battles. Anything over a score of 150 runs in the first innings should be a challenging total.

Head-To-Head:

Matches Played: 5

Dindigul Dragons Won: 3

Lyca Kovai Kings Won: 2

Squads:

Dindigul Dragons: AG Pradeep, Hari Nishanth (C), Mani Bharathi (Wk), Vishal Vaidhya, RS Mohit Hariharan, R Vivek, K Monish, Vignesh, M Silambarasan, Manoj Kumar, Rangaraj Suthesh, S Kishan Kumar, S Arun, S Lokeshwar, S Swaminathan, Rajhamany Srinivasan, K Mukunth, M Karthik Saran, Vimal Khumar, Gurjapneet Singh, Advaith Sharma

Lyca Kovai Kings: Ashwin Venkataraman, Ganga Sridhar Raju, U Mukilesh, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan (c), Shijit Chandran, J Suresh Kumar, Abhishek Tanwar, S Ajith Ram, Govindhan Aravindh, Manish Ravi, T Natarajan, N Selva Kumaran, Krishnamoorthy Vignesh, Valliappan Yudheeswaran

 Probable Playing XI:

Dindigul Dragons: AG Pradeep, Hari Nishanth (C), Mani Bharathi (Wk), Vishal Vaidhya, RS Mohit Hariharan, R Vivek, K Monish, Vignesh, M Silambarasan, Manoj Kumar, Rangaraj Suthesh

Lyca Kovai Kings: Ashwin Venkataraman, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan (C), Ganga Sridhar Raju, J Suresh Kumar (wk), U Mukilesh, Shijit Chandran, T Natarajan, S Ajith Ram, N Selva Kumaran, Abhishek Tanwar

CREX XI Suggestion:

Wicket-Keeper: K Mani Bharathi

Batters: Shahrukh Khan, B Sai Sudharsan, RS Mohit Hariharan

All-Rounders: C Hari Nishaanth, Abhishek Tanwar, Karaparambil Satish Monish, U Mukilesh

Bowlers: T Natarajan, Lakshminarayanan Vignesh, N Selva Kumaran

Captain: B Sai Sudharsan

Vice-Captain: C Hari Nishaanth