TNPL 2019, LKK vs DD: Do-or-die game for Lyca Kovai Kings against Dindigul Dragons

Dindigul Dragons team in practice session ahead of their clash against Lyca Kovai Kings in 4th edition of Sankar Cement TNPL 2019 at the ICL- Sankar Nagar Ground, Tirunelveli

Tirunelveli, August 06: Lyca Kovai Kings will have to do all the running in their final league game against table-toppers Dindigul Dragons to keep their chances alive in the 4th Sankar Cement Tamil Nadu Twenty20 Premier League (TNPL) at the India Cements Ltd- Sankar Nagar Ground, Tirunelveli on Wednesday.

With just six points from LKK have put themselves in a tough situation as their net run rate (-0.031) is far less than the other immediate contender VB Kanchi Veerans (NRR + 0.575), who also have six points from six matches. They not only have to beat DD convincingly but pray VBKV lose to Ruby Trichy Warriors by a big margin (see equation).

There’s not much to choose from LKK and DD’s past record. In three meetings both have won match each with one game being abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The equation

Dindigul Dragons(12 points, NRR 1.124): They are in the best situation. A win or loss does not alter their position as league leaders, as no other team has any chances of overhauling their points tally nor equalling it.

Lyca Kovai Kings(6 points, NRR -0.031): Tough to make the Playoffs. A winning margin of 50+ runs or 6 overs to spare against DD would bring them close to 0.390. However, if VBKV win their last match, their NRR would only go up from (0.575) and end LKK’s aspirations. Another way to probably deny VBKV would be to win by a margin of 80+ runs or 9 overs to spare, which would give them an NRR of 0.600. But in both situations, they can only go ahead if VBKV lose. But before that they have to upstage the undefeated DD by big margins as well.

Match 25: Dindigul Dragons v Lyca Kovai Kings

Venue: India Cements Ltd - Sankar Nagar Ground, Tirunelveli

When: August 7, 2019 (Wednesday)

Match timings: 7:15 P.M. onwards

Live on: Star Sports 3, Star Sports 1 (Tamil), Vijay Super

Head to Head: DD 1; LKK 1 (1 match abandoned in 2017)

2018 league record:DD league toppers; LKK third

2019 record:Dindigul Dragons WWWWWW; Lyca Kovai Kings WLLWLW

2019 top performers:Narayan Jagadeesan 361 runs, M Silambarasan 10 wickets (DD); Abhinav Mukund 179 runs, Antony Dhas, T Natarajan 8 wickets each (LKK)

TEAMS

Dindigul Dragons:C Hari Nishaanth, Narayan Jagadeesan (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin (captain), NS Chaturved, Rajendran Vivek, Sumant Jain, Mohan Abhinav, M Mohammed, Ramalingam Rohit, M Silambarasan, Jagannathan Kaushik, Yazh Arun Mozhi, Varun M Totadri, Adithya Arun, Trilok Nag.

Lyca Kovai Kings:M Shahrukh Khan, Abhinav Mukund (captain), Pradosh Ranjan Paul (WK), Malolan Rangarajan, B Anirudh Sita Ram, W Antony Dhas, Thangarasu Natarajan, Krishnamoorthy Vignesh, Akkil Srinaath, S Manigandan, S Ajith Ram, J Suresh Kumar, Ashwin Venkatraman, Muhammad Adnan Khan, RS Jaganath Sinivas.

Umpires:M Saidarshan Kumar, K Raguram; Third umpire: M Madhu.

Match referee: B Kalyanasundaram.

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