LKK VS DD FINAL

Rahul Dravid hands the TNPL trophy to his former Indian teammate Ravichandran Ashwin and it is held aloft! Boom! Burst the confetti and Pop! Go the firecrackers. Right then. That ends another exhilarating edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League. Congratulations to Dindigul and commiserations to Lyca. Kovai were consistent throughout the tournament while the Dragons started to fire at the business end of the tournament. What's next for us? Well, the pace at which these T20 Leagues started, we felt there is no tomorrow but now, with most of the leagues coming to an end, we feel like we are in a hole. The Hundred is still going on in the UK, so you can definitely catch that action while in international cricket, after the third SL-Ind ODI, you can catch a glimpse of Caribbean flavour as South Africa resume their mashed up tour of West Indies. They played 3 T20Is before the World Cup, then played the mega event right till the final in the country and are now ready to complete the sandwich by playing the Tests and another T20I series to follow. You can catch all that right here, by just browsing through the tabs. Keep surfing, keep enjoying. Until next time, ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

Next, players with bigger smiles. How cliched will this sound - at the Chepauk, it is YELLOVE. In the Indian T20 League, it is for Chennai. In this game, Dindigul Dragons were playing with the yellow jersey while Kovai were playing with a blue jersey. And history has it, that whenever yellow plays blue at the Chepauk, at least domestically, yellow wins! No different tonight. Up come the players for their medallions. A huge cheer goes around as skipper RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN comes up for a chat. Starts with a joke, saying that this win just happened in a flow, chirping that they were the only team to lose to bottom-ranked Salem! Gets serious and praises all his teammates for putting on the perfect performance in the final. Hopes that youngsters can take something from this tournament and do better in future. Takes his hat off to Sarath Kumar C for owning the field, taking 4 catches, coming in with a shoulder injury. Details that they did not start the tournament well at all, informing that they do not have a head coach but credits the assistant coaches for getting the players up mentally. Praises quite a few lads from his team, like Sandeep Warrier, P Vignesh and Shivam Singh. Now, he hopes that they take it to the next level. On his own performance, Ashwin rues that he has been saying for the last 2 years that he will play and eventually, managed to make it this time. Adds that, in knockouts, experience usually helps and that's what triumphed in the 2024 TNPL final.

Now, Lyca Kovai Kings get the runners-up medalions. They might have lost the final but were the best team in the tournament by a mile. Skipper SHAHRUKH KHAN calls it as a fantastic tournament for Kovai and irrespective of the result, is happy with the team for maintaining the process started in 2023. Admits that losing too many wickets in the middle overs was the main reason for their loss, but urges his team and fans to swallow this bitter pill as they won from losing positions in the past. Agrees that he got a freak shoulder injury but does not necessarily point it as the reason for their loss. Details that he does not look at himself like a batter or bowler but just looks to contribute in whatever manner his teams needs him to.

Next up, medallions are presented to the adjudicators of the game - the umpires and the match referees.

Lyca Kovai Kings skipper, SHAHRUKH KHAN, is awarded the PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT. The captain led from the front, scoring 225 runs with the bat, at a strike rate of 182.92. But this season, he was the real Midas with the ball, picking up 13 wickets @15.3 at an economy of 6.78. He was also second in the list of leading wicket takers of TNPL 2024.

The Purple Cap goes to SKM Salem Spartans' M Poiyamozhi, for being the leading wicket taker of the tournament. He scalped 16 wickets, @13.68 and an economy of 8.16. He picked up a 4-fer as well.

Dindigul Dragons' SHIVAM SINGH is presented with the Orange Cap, for being the leading run getter of the tournament. He made 364 runs @45.5 and a strike rate of 134.81, which included 4 50-plus scores, including a century.

First up, a special memento is presented to the 'Great Wall Of India' - RAHUL DRAVID - by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. This is followed by a series of other awards.

... THE PRESENTATION ...

RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN HAS BEEN NAMED AS THE PLAYER OF THE FINAL, for his fantastic 52 and economical 0/13 in 4 overs. No interview as of now because he will be called upon to talk once the medallions are presented to the players. And finally, we are ready for the presentation.

Varun Chakaravarthy has a chat now. Varun says that just a month ago, he won the Indian T20 League, so is happier to win the TNPL as well. Credits the entire bowling unit of Dindigul for this final and expresses that everyone delivered. On him batting up the order a couple of games back, Varun says that he has improved his batting and is happy that Ashwin agreed to his promotion.

Sarath Kumar C is next. Smiles on being asked about his day in the field, with 4 catches. Informs that before the match, Ashwin came to the dressing room and joked that there would be a superstar in the field in this game. Shyly says that it turned out to be Sarath. Details that whenever the team wins, Ashwin is the first to praise and when the team loses, he is the first to criticize. So the whole squad respects him.

Shivam Singh comes up now. Cites this as an amazing feeling and cannot describe it in words. Calls Ashwin a legend, for choosing to play TNPL and inspiring everyone by playing with so much intensity, literally throwing himself around in the field and doing his stuff with both, ball and bat. Calls TNPL as one of the best platforms not only for youngsters but for anyone who likes to play cricket, as it is very well managed.

Time for some chats. Baba Indrajith is first up. Smiles and says that he is very happy. Adds that they always wanted to play the final at Chepauk and is elated to win his first TNPL title. Asked on whom would he like to dedicate this trophy, Baba says that it would be unfair to dedicate to only one person as the whole squad and management came across together to get this done. On P Vignesh, Indrajith is very happy for him, detaling that Ashwin used to be with him in the nets, guiding him on every ball and explaining how to do it in the middle as well.

Earlier in the evening, Ashwin won an important toss, which gave Dindigul a healthy edge. The rain just before the start of the game made the surface a bit tacky and batting was difficult. Lyca had a good batting lineup but one felt that Sai Sudharsan was their enforcer. And when he fell, things fell apart. They were 49/1 at one stage, but then fell apart. 3 batters crossed 20, but none got to even 30. For Dindigul, it was a professional bowling display with everyone stepping up, barring Diran VP.

Wickets were the order of the night for Shahrukh Khan and his team did get 2 pretty early but after that, things did not quite get rolling his way. The scorecard might show that Lyca Kovai Kings dragged Dindigul Dragons till the 19th over to chase down 130, but the truth was that Dindigul were always comfortable throughout the chase. Also, with the ball getting wet, the Lyca bowlers did find it difficult to grip the ball.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Baba Indrajith formed that much-needed pair for Dindigul. Lyca were roaring and the Dragons needed to douse the fire, however contradictory that might sound. Pun intended. They concentrated on just batting normally, rotating the strike and not going for big hits. With the required rate hovering around the 7s, they were scoring roughly around the same rate as well, with every passing over making it more and more difficult for Kovai as they needed wickets. Ashwin was in form, getting his third half century on the trot while Indrajith too, helped himself to some useful runs. Indrajith's departure in Shahrukh Khan's first over gave Lyca a ray of hope but it was too much to do for them.

Barring the recently concluded T20 World Cup, you won't find many instances of targets under 140 troubling chasing teams. Even in Women's cricket. And it did not trouble Dindigul much either. They were 2 down pretty quickly but simply because of that required rate not being above 7, all they had to do was play smart cricket.

Comfortable win in the end for Dindigul Dragons. Or shall we say, a pretty one-sided final overall. Lyca Kovai Kings tried their counter punch with both bat and ball in the 6 overs of Powerplay across both innings, but smart cricket overall from the Dragons has seen them end their trophy drought, winning for the first time in 3 attempts.