Cricket News TNPL 2023

'Shah Rukh ki team hai, jeetna he thha' - Fans celebrate as Lyca Kovai Kings thrash Nellai Royal Kings in TNPL 2023 to defend their title

In the final of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), Lyca Kovai Kings locked horns with Nellai Royal Kings.

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Rohit Kumar
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'Shah Rukh ki team hai, jeetna he thha' - Fans celebrate as Lyca Kovai Kings thrash Nellai Royal Kings in TNPL 2023 to defend their title

Lyca Kovai Kings (Image Credit: Twitter/TNPL)

In the final of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), Lyca Kovai Kings locked horns with Nellai Royal Kings. The Kovai Kings had lost one game of the tournament in the league stages. On the other hand, the Royal Kings, who finished third in the points table, snuck into the title after winning the Eliminator and the second Qualifier.

Talking about the summit clash, Lyca, who was defending the title, won the toss and elected to bat first. They shared the spoils with Chepauk Super Gillies last year as the final was washed out. Meanwhile, after electing to bat first, the Blue Brigade lost two wickets for 31 runs. At this stage, the likes of Suresh Kumar and U Mukilesh put together 71 runs for the third wicket.

Both players scored half-centuries but skipper Shah Rukh Khan failed with the bat. Despite this, the team reached a daunting total of 205/5. Atheeq Ur Rahman (50*) played a cameo in the end.

Lyka Kovai Kings thrash Nellai Royal Kings

The Shah Rukh Khan-led side kept the stranglehold of the opposition in their bowling innings. Gowtham Thamarai and Manimaran Siddharth took one wicket each in the first two to start the defense. Royal Kings skipper Arun Karthik (27) started well but his stay was cut short by Khan who became the highest wicket-taker of the tournament.

Only four batters could reach the double-digit mark. Khan ended up getting three wickets and Jhatavedh Subramanyan took four. The likes of Gowtham, Siddharth, and M Mohammed took one wicket each. In the end, the Royal Kings were bowled out for 101, losing the game by 104 runs. With this, Kovai has become the second team to defend their title. Chepauk Super Gillies did so for the first time in 2021, having won their maiden title in 2019. The tournament wasn't played in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the Super Gillies shared the spoils with the Kovai Kings.

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