TNPL 2022 Updated Points Table: Lyca Kovai Kings dominate the Salem Spartans en route to their first win - Updated after Match 11

The Salem Spartans played their second game of TNPL 2022, but it wasn't a memorable outing for them. They lost to the Lyca Kovai Kings in the first match of a doubleheader on Wednesday at the NPR College Ground in Dindigul.

Kovai Kings captain Shahrukh Khan elected to field first after winning the toss, and his bowlers backed his decision with some tight bowling on what was a good batting surface.

Seamer K Vignesh started with a double-wicket maiden in the second over of the match. In response, Salem opener Gopinath led an excellent counter-punch, enabling the Spartans to get to a powerplay total in excess of 60. However, he perished immediately after the powerplay.

In a puzzling move, captain Murugan Ashwin promoted himself to No.5, walking out to bat in the sixth over. The move didn't quite pay off as he fell for a 32-ball 31. Salem was unable to accelerate after Gopinath's dismissal as the Kovai bowlers kept things tight.

Leg-spinner Balu Surya was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 3/14. In the end, the absence of an attacking knock meant that they finished with a sub-par total of 146/9.

The Kovai Kings lost opener Raju early, but J Suresh Kumar and Sai Sudharsan formed a strong partnership. The duo batted steadily in the powerplay and ensured the asking rate was always manageable.

After reaching 76/1 in 10 overs, they put their foot down. The Salem bowlers were unable to pick up wickets at crucial junctures, and when M Ashwin finally dismissed Suresh Kumar in the 15th over, he had already scored 64 runs off 43 balls.

The Kovai Kings smartly looked to finish the game off as quickly as possible and did so with 3.3 overs to spare, giving themselves a massive NRR boost. Suresh Kumar won the Player of the Match award.

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TNPL 2022 Updated Points Table

TNPL 2022 Updated points table after LKK vs SLST match.

A huge margin of victory means that the Kovai Kings move up to the fourth position, despite this being their first win in three games.

The Salem Spartans, meanwhile, have a lot of work to do in their upcoming fixtures. Their NRR of -1.435 could end up hurting their playoff chances.

Check out the TNPL 2022 points table here.