TNPL | Madurai Panthers, Kovai Kings to fight it out in an intriguing finale

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Kovai Kings captain Shahrukh Khan and Madurai Panthers skipper Anirudh Sita Ram with the trophy. | Photo Credit: R. Ragu

Well begun is half done. Madurai Panthers established itself as the side to watch out for in TNPL-10 by winning its first four games.

Though there was a stumble after that, Panthers closed out the league stage strongly with a 72-run thrashing of Nellai Royal Kings to finish top of the table. That proved vital as it helped the Madurai side reach the final after its Qualifier 1 against second-placed Trichy Grand Cholas was washed out.

Panthers will now look to fulfil that early-season promise when it takes on Vida Kovai Kings in the summit clash at the MAC Stadium here on Friday.

B. Anirudh Sita Ram’s men have shown great tenacity to conjure victories from tough situations. The former champion’s campaign has been a case of the team being greater than the sum of its parts.

Its top-two run scorers — Atheeq Ur Rahman and N.S. Chaturved — are ninth and 11th on the chart while none of its bowlers is among the top-10 wicket-takers. Unlike the panthers in the wild, this Madurai outfit has worked effectively as a collective.

Like Panthers, Kovai Kings also benefited from a washout to advance out of the Eliminator clash against iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans based on league standings.

The side’s strength has been its potent bowling line-up led by pacers Deeban Lingesh and G. Kishoor while M. Siddharth and Jhathavedh Subramanyan form a formidable spin combo. On the batting front, Kovai Kings have been over-reliant on B. Sachin. But fortunately for the Coimbatore unit, opener S. Lokeshwar and skipper M. Shahrukh Khan have found form in recent outings.

It could come down to the battle between Panthers’ batting depth and Kovai Kings’ varied bowling attack in what promises to be an intriguing finale.

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