TNPL 2023: LKK vs ITT Match 1 Predictions
Match Details & Overview
The domestic T20 league of Tamil Nadu popularly known as Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is set to begin on June 12, 2023. The first match is between Lyca Kovai Kings and iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans at SNR College Cricket Ground, Coimbatore. The Kings were the joint winners along with Chepauk Super Gillies due to rain-hit no result in the final while Tamizhans finished 5th in the points table and couldn’t make it to the playoffs. This fixture is the tournament opener therefore the morale and energy are very high. It would be interesting to see how defending champions start their campaign.
Pitch Report
It looks like a decent pitch that can help the bowlers rather than the batsmen. Captains winning the toss would like to bowl first as the chasing looked easy here in the 2022 edition.
LKK vs ITT Match 1 Preview
Team Lyca Kovai Kings
The experience of Shahrukh Khan, who played fine cameos for the Punjab Kings in the IPL 2023, will surely come into play. He gave all-round performances. J Suresh Kumar was the second-highest run-getter in the TNPL 2022. Kiran Akash was the second-highest wicket-taker in the TNPL 2022. The left-arm spinner Manimaran Siddharth has already taken three 4-wicket hauls in his short career. Hence, this team looks solid.
The joint winners of the 2022 edition are coming into this game as favourites. However, some of their players from the 2022 edition are no longer in the squad but they are still confident of a winning start. The team has won 6 of their last 7 matches in the TNPL 2022. Sai Sudarshan who got immense appreciation for his 96 in the IPL 2023 final against the Chennai Super Kings is the key player of the team. He also hit 65 runs in the 2022 final against Chepauk Super Gillies.
Team iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans
Since they finished 5th in last year’s edition, they would probably play as Underdogs. They lost the fixture against the Kings in the last edition. Talking about team form, they lost 3 of their last 5 matches in the last season’s edition. They have the likes of K Vishal Vaidya, Vijay Shankar and R Sai Kishore. Vaidya scored 49, 45 and 84 in the last 3 matches. Vijay Shankar has already impressed everybody in the IPL 2023 with his big-hitting ability skills. Left-arm spinner Sai Kishore is one of the best turners of the ball and was the third-highest wicket-taker. He bowled 3 maidens in the last season most by any bowler.
Head-to-head Records
When these teams faced each other, the Kings were all over Tamizhans.
| Matches Played | LKK won | ITT won | Tie | No Result |
| 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Key Players To Watch
We are taking stats of the season 2022 to understand the performance of a player.
Team Lyca Kovai Kings
| Player | Matches | Runs | Bat. Average | Batting S Rate | Wickets | Bowl. Economy |
| J Suresh Kumar | 10 | 398 | 49.7 | 157.9 | ||
| B Sai Sudharsan | 10 | 336 | 48 | 140.5 | ||
| S Khan | 10 | 187 | 46.7 | 164 | 11 | 8.3 |
| R Divakar | 9 | 8 | 9.5 |
Team iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans
| Player | Matches | Runs | Bat. Average | Bat. S Rate | Wickets | Bowl. Average |
| T Raheja | 7 | 124 | 24.8 | 124 | ||
| R Sai Kishore | 6 | 111 | 37 | 124.7 | 11 | 6 |
| K Vishal Vaidya | 6 | 196 | 39.2 | 134.2 | ||
| B Anirudh | 7 | 151 | 30.2 | 122.7 |
Squads
Team Lyca Kovai Kings
Sai Sudharsan, U Mukilesh, Ram Arvindh, S Sujay, Shahrukh Khan(c), M Mohammed, K Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, Kiran Akash, J Suresh Kumar(wk), Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Manimaran Siddharth, R Divakar, Valliappan Yudheeswaran, Atheeq Ur Rahman, P Hemcharan, KM Om Prakash, P Vidyuth
Team iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans
Balchander Anirudh (c), NS Chaturved, Alliraj Karuppusamy, Vijay Shankar, Rajendran Vivek, S Ganesh, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, S Ajith Ram, Trilok Nag, K Vishal Vaidhya, S Radhakrishnan, Tushar Raheja (wk), S Manigandan, G Periyaswamy, P Bhuvaneswaran, Rahul Harish, Mohamed Ali, G Parthasarathy, M Ragavan, I Vetrivel
LKK vs ITT Match 1 Fantasy Predictions
Team Lyca Kovai Kings
Team iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans
Predicted Playing XI
Team Lyca Kovai Kings
J Suresh Kumar (wk), Sai Sudharsan, U Mukilesh, Ram Arvindh, Shahrukh Khan (c), M Mohammed, Manimaran Siddharth, K Gowtham, R Divakar, Valliappan Yudheeswaran, P Hemcharan
Team iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans
Balchander Anirudh (captain), NS Chaturved, K Vishal Vaidhya, Rajendran Vivek, Alliraj Karuppusamy, S Radhakrishnan, Vijay Shankar, Tushar Raheja (wk), Ganeshan Periyaswamy, Trilok Nag, R Sai Kishore
Fantasy Playing XI
Based on the stats above, here is the winning fantasy team.
Conclusion
The Kings have enjoyed playing cricket at this venue. They have also dominated the opposition and would want to have an upper hand. The Kings are winning their matches through their all-around show. While Tamizhans are also a good side this year. R Sai Kishore’s inclusion in the team should make an impact. The top order needs to go aggressive in its approach. Can the Kings start with a win here or we can expect some fight from Tamizhans? Let’s wait as the cricket match is a fascinating contest.
