TNPL 2017, Final Preview: TuTi takes on Chepauk for the second time in a row

Chepauk would want to be fifth-time lucky against TuTi as the second season of TNPL draws to a close with the final on Sunday. Defending champions Albert TuTi Patriots, who are still unbeaten in this season of the tournament, will lock horns with Chepauk Super Gillies in the final of the tournament at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Sunday.

TuTi have only got better during the course of the tournament. Washington Sundar has been a revelation for them. He has excelled in all departments and has been breaking records in every game. To be able to stay in the limelight despite the presence of International players like Dinesh Karthik and Abhinav Mukund will only boost the youngster’s confidence. He will be hoping to repeat the performance and help TuTi defend the title.

Kaushik Gandhi has been the perfect foil for Sundar at the top and the batting line-up is strengthened by the inclusion of Karthik and Mukund. SP Nathan and Akash Sumra have the ability to wield the long handle and this makes TuTi a dangerous batting side. Athisayaraj Davidson has had great outings against Chepauk and along with Ganesh Moorthi, he will be hoping to put pressure on Chepauk early in the innings. Aswin Crist’s economical spells make it easier for Aushik Srinivas and Sundar, who operate in the middle overs, to apply the brakes on the scoring rate.

Meanwhile, Chepauk have all their boxes ticked, but the box that says a win against TuTi is yet to be checked. What better occasion than the big final to erase all the past records. It is vital that Chepauk put up a good opening stand in order to post a total on the board or to chase down a huge score. One of KH Gopinath or Thalaivan Sargunam need to play well and others would need to bat around them. Antony Dhas’s batting form lately has been impressive and S Karthik lends depth to Chepauk’s batting. Saravanan, U Sasidev and captain R Sathish can all bat like champions.

Skipper Sathish often opens the bowling and gets the early breakthrough. The left-arm trio of Sai Kishore, R Alexander and Arun Kumar have posed many problems for the batsmen. Sai Kishore, who is also the leading wicket-taker in this year’s TNPL, will hope to shine with the ball in the crucial game against TuTi. Antony Dhas’ spell in the middle overs is a key just like Yo Mahesh in the death overs. The Chepauk bowlers must make sure they do not let TuTi run away with the game during the powerplay.

Chepauk and TuTi have met four times previously and TuTi have got the better of Chepauk on all occasions including last year’s final and this year’s Qualifier 1. Will Chepauk be fifth time lucky or will TuTi once again get better of the opponent to make it two in two in the finals?

Key Battles:

Washington Sundar & Kaushik Gandhi vs KH Gopinath & Thalaivan Sargunam

Both teams have in-form openers who have been using the powerplay overs well. It is vital for both the teams to get good starts and it will be interesting to see which pair comes out on top.

Sai Kishore vs Dinesh Karthik

Sai Kishore got through the defense of Karthik on the very first ball he faced during the previous encounter. He will hope to repeat that while Karthik will want to get some runs under his belt.

Athisayaraj Davidson vs R Sathish

Both bowlers have got early breakthroughs for their respective teams. Their performance during the batting powerplay will definitely be one to watch out for.

Head to Head:

Albert Tuti Patriots 4

Chepauk Super Gillies 0

(The last time the two teams met was in Chennai- TuTi beat Chepauk by eight wickets)