Both the teams are looking even on paper. However, Siechem Madurai might just have an edge over the Kings due to a better middle order.
League
Tamil Nadu Premier League 2023
Match
Siechem Madurai Panthers vs Nellai Royal Kings
Date
14 June 2023
Time
3:00 PM IST
This will be the first day game of the season.
Nellai Royal Kings have a very good pace attack for all conditions.
Sonu Yadav took 5 wickets at a strike rate of 9.6 in Coimbatore last year.
B Surya also had 4 wickets under his name in Coimbatore last year.
Madurai Panthers have two brilliant left arm seamers in V Gowtham and Gurjapneet Singh.
G Ajitesh had a strike rate of 320 in Coimbatore last year.
R Easwaran is another keeper batter from NRK who is a good striker of the ball. He made 41 off 27 in the only game he played at Coimbatore last year.
Shijit Chandran had a batting average of 9.25 in 4 innings last year at Coimbatore.
Poiyamozhi is a very good death bowling option and is known for his variations.
Pick more bowlers from the team bowling second.
Nellai Royals Kings got the better of Siechem Madurai in the last game between these two sides last year.
The surface at the SNR College Cricket Ground will be a balanced one. This will be a day game therefore batting first should be more ideal on this surface. Spinners will be effective throughout the game. However, seamers getting early movements under the lights will not be the case here. The first innings total is expected to be around 165. Team winning the toss should bat first.
The weather is expected to remain cloudy throughout the day in Coimbatore. However, there is a slight chance of rain during the match time.
There are no major updates reported from both sides.
Siechem Madurai Panthers Playing XI: V Aaditya, Hari Nishaanth, Shijit Chandran, Jagatheesan Koushik, Washington Sundar, Ajay Krishna, Murugan Ashwin, Swapnil Singh, B Surya, V Gowtham, Gurjapneet Singh
Possible Impact Player: P Saravanan
Nellai Royal Kings Playing XI: Laxmesha Suryaprakash, Arun Karthik, Nidhish Rajagopal, Sri Neranjan, Sonu Yadav, G Ajitesh, Aswin Crist, Sandeep Warrier, Mohan Prasath, Karthik Manikandam, Poiyamozhi.
Possible Impact Player: R Easwaran
Aswin Crist: Aswin Crist was one of the best seamers last season in TNPL 2022. He took 11 wickets at a strike rate of 13 in 7 games. He will be a great captaincy choice to have ahead of this match. In addition, he took 3 wickets in his last outing against the Madurai Panthers last year.
Washington Sundar: Washington Sundar is likely to start for Madurai Panthers and will undoubtedly be one of the captaincy choices ahead of this game. He is expected to bat up the order and also this will be a day game which will make his off spin even more lethal.
Sonu Yadav: Sonu Yadav will be playing a key role for Nellai Royal Kings, especially with the bat down the order in that batting order. He has been instrumental with the ball and this all-round ability makes him different from the crowd.
G Ajitesh: Ajitesh was one of the big stories from last year’s TNPL. He will have a huge role to play in this NRK lineup especially without any big name in their middle order. He has been selected by hardly any teams as of writing this, making him the best differential pick to have in this match.
Gurjapneet Singh: Gurjapneet is another name which can be a terrific differential pick. The left arm pacer who can bowl in almost every phase of the game can make a difference in your points tally.
N Rajagopal: Rajagopal had a terrific 2021 season but could not carry on the good form in the next season in 2022. He will be one of the key players in NRK’s middle order but does not guarantee confidence due to his last year outings. It is advisable to avoid picking him for this match.
If SMP bat first
Complete team with three of Ajitesh, V Gowtham, B Surya, Suryaprakash
If NRK bat first
Complete team with three of Neranjan, Gurjapneet, Manikandan, Poiyamozhi
If SMP bat first
Complete team with three of Poiyamozhi, Warrier, J Koushik, V Gowtham
If NRK bat first
Complete team with three of Arun Karthik, Neranjan, Krishna, Prasath
Both the teams are looking even on paper. However, Siechem Madurai might just have an edge over the Kings due to a better middle order.
