TNPL 2017, Qualifier 2 Preview: Chepauk and Kovai to fight it out for a spot in the final

Chepauk Super Gillies and Lyca Kovai Kings face off in the second qualifier at the ICL Ground, Sankarnagar in the India Cements Ltd TNPL 2017 and will look to book a place in the finals. Chepauk Super Gillies will look to bounce back after their loss in the first qualifier against the Albert TuTi Patriots. They will take heart from the fact that they defeated Kovai in the league match earlier this season. Lyca Kovai Kings will come in on a high after winning a high scoring thriller to eliminate Karaikudi Kaalai. Kovai seem to have peaked at just the right time and will come in high on confidence.

Chepauk Super Gillies have had a good tournament barring the blip that they have faced against the Albert TuTi Patriots. Chepauk defeated all the other sides in the group stage this edition. While the openers have got them off to good starts in a few games, their middle order has contributed as well. Thalaivan Sargunam and KH Gopinath along with S Karthik and U Sasidev have been in fine nick. Antony Dhas is hitting the ball well and is an added boon to the side. Vasanth Saravanan and R Satish are yet to hit their stride with the bat.

On the bowling front, left-arm spinner Sai Kishore who is the second leading wicket-taker in the tournament has been the most impressive and picked up 13 wickets. R Alexander has also been on point containing the runs while snaring wickets simultaneously. Satish started the tournament well bowling early in the game and picking up wickets but is now focussing on the middle overs now. The side will look to their skipper to marshal his troops well while also contributing with bat and ball. Chepauk’s fielding has been pretty good this tournament.

Kovai have come from behind after a slow start to gain momentum towards the business end of the tournament. After two games were washed out for them, they faced a must-win situation in all their remaining encounters. So far Kovai have risen to the challenge and have chased down two big targets in style to remain in contention. The addition of Murali Vijay to the squad has reinforced the side both with him leading as a captain and contributing runs with the bat. Suryapprakash and Anirudh Sita Ram have had a good run this year as well.

Kovai also has the fastest TNPL centurion R Rohith in their side as the youngster helped them march into the second qualifier. Akshay Srinivas has also played a few cameos for his side. The bowling is probably slightly weaker than the batting but they do have K Vignesh leading the attack and spinners B Arun and Ajith Ram bowl well in tandem to stem the flow of runs. Thamarai Kannan had a good outing in the last match and is another bowling option. Fielding is one area where Kovai have to improve as the side have spilled quite a few chances.

Key contests: 

Sai Kishore vs Murali Vijay: One of the best players of spin bowling, Lyca Kovai Kings skipper Murali Vijay will relish the challenge against young Chepauk Super Gillies left-arm spinner Sai Kishore. If the tall lanky spinner can remove Vijay early it will be a huge boon in a pressure game. However if Vijay finds his rhythm he has the ability to single handledly take games away from opponents.

KH Gopinath vs K Vignesh: The Chepauk Super Gillies opener Gopinath is vital to the fortunes of his side and how he sees off the new ball spell from Kovai’s Vignesh is key.

Big hitting of Antony Dhas vs R Rohith: Antony Dhas can strike some lusty blows and he has been timing the ball well this year. Rohith will come in full of confidence fresh of his century in the last game. Which big hitter will strike the bigger blows? We will have to wait and watch.

Head to head: Chepauk 2 Kovai 1 (Chepauk Super Gillies beat Lyca Kovai Kings by 6 wickets in 2017 group stage, Chepauk Super Gillies beat Lyca Kovai Kings by 17 runs in 2016 semi-final, Lyca Kovai Kings beat Chepauk Super Gillies by 11 runs in 2016 group stage)