TNPL 2017: SWOT analysis of the final four sides

ALBERT TUTI PATRIOTS

Strengths

The defending champions have not lost a single game in the tournament. They have gone from strength to strength. Their openers, Washington Sundar and Kaushik Gandhi, are in superb form. That makes the job easy for the middle order and lower order. SP Nathan looks in good touch and so does Anand Subramanian. Their bowling has been exceptional as well with Ganesh Moorthi leading the attack. Aswin Crist and Athisayaraj Davidson lend good support, with Sundar and Aushik Srinivas completing the attack. The team looks solid and will in go as favourites.

Weaknesses

The middle order has not been tested in many games because of the consistency of the openers in most of the games. Though someone or the other steps up if one of the openers fails, there is over-dependence on the openers. There is no fixed middle order yet for the Patriots and that is a cause of concern.

Opportunities

The Patriots will hope to make use of the winning momentum. The fact that they have beaten the Chepauk Super Gillies in all three meetings is an added advantage.

Threats

Patriots are a settled side and they would want to keep the winning side going. The addition of Abhinav Mukund and Dinesh Karthik will obviously bolster the batting, but it might just disturb the batting order, especially at the top with Kaushik Gandhi and Sundar doing well. There is a problem of plenty for Patriots now.

LYCA KOVAI KINGS

Mural Vijay will be hoping to take Kovai over the line

Strengths

Kovai's batsmen have peaked at the right time. They are looking exceptionally good at the moment. The addition of M Vijay has boosted the confidence of the team and Anirudh Sita Ram and L Surya Prakash have steadied the batting at the top. K Vignesh leads their bowling attack well and he is well-supported by Harish Kumar, M Mohammed and B Arun. The middle order is also slowly showing its prowess and the team is shaping well for the playoffs.

Weaknesses

Bowling at the death has been a problem for the Kovai team and they have often given away plenty of runs in the last four overs. Though the batting has been strong at the top, Kovai also are dependant on their openers to score most of the runs.

Opportunities

They have treated their games like knockout fixtures. That will help as their mindset would be that of warriors.

Threats

Kovai have not played a single game at NPR College Ground, Natham. Both their games were washed out this year. Karaikudi know the conditions better. Kovai will hope that this factor doesn’t affect them adversely.

CHEPAUK SUPER GILLIES

Chepauk will be looking to go one step further this time

Strengths

The Gillies seem to have all their bases covered. They have a solid top order. Youngsters like U Sasidev and S Karthik have stepped up as well and contributed with the bat. Antony Dhas seems to have found his form with the bat too. The experience of R Sathish with the ball, complemented perfectly by Sai Kishore and R Alexander is another boon for the side. Their only loss came against TuTi in the league games.

Weaknesses

A few dropped catches seem to be the only blemish. The side will also look to guard against relying too heavily on their top order.

Opportunities

Chepauk are yet to beat TuTi in three attempts in the India Cements Ltd TNPL and they have a golden opportunity to do so when the two sides face off in Qualifier 1. Playing at their home ground should be an added advantage.

Threats

Can they handle the big-game pressure? They choked in the final last year.

KARAIKUDI KAALAI

Can Karaikudi surprise everyone in the playoffs?

Strengths

Karaikudi have bowled well this season with Mohan Prasath and Rajkumar shining for them. Vishal Vaidhya has been a great find, while S Aniruda has been striking the ball well this season too.

Weaknesses

The middle order hasn’t clicked and skipper S Badrinath has been a disappointment this season. The side will need to find a way to make up for the middle order's poor form. Sunil Sam tends to concede too many runs.

Opportunities

Karaikudi are the only new team who have qualified for the playoffs from last season and they will look to make the most of this chance.

Threats

The over-dependence on their openers is something Karaikudi will hope to avoid in the Eliminator. Coming in as underdogs, they will hope to surprise the other teams.