CHENNAI: When Madurai Panthers got new owners a few months ago, there was renewed hope. After near misses and heartbreaks in the previous years, Madurai Panthers have another shot at their second TNPL title, when they take on Vida Kovai Kings on Friday.
Kovai, meanwhile, came fresh off a convincing win in Qualifier 2 against Trichy Grand Cholas. Kovai bowlers in particular Deeban Lingesh and M Siddharth are in red hot form. The contest on Friday could boil down to Madurai Panthers batting prowess and Kovai's bowling.RS Ambrish, Kishoor G and Jhathavedh S are also names Madurai need to be vary of.
But Madurai captain Anirudh Sita Ram B sounded cool and was confident about the task ahead. "The preparation for the final is good. The team is confident and doing well," said Anirudh.
He was glad to see the auction strategy pay off on the pitch, as right selections have played to their best.
"We did have this talk before going into the auction to identify and pick the right talent. And we knew winning a tournament, you need the team to perform as a team, not individuals. So, that was the area we addressed. Going back years, we have taken a lot of individual talents. But as a team, we couldn't cross that line," said Anirudh.
The Madurai skipper also revealed that backing young talent helped his team. "This year we felt that we must bring in talents who can come, step up right away. We have seen in every game, we could see a new performer come up and take that responsibility and get us through. We had confidence in each and every one. But I would say, for instance Hari Ragavendra who came and scored 98, it (conditions) was not easy. But he excelled.
Then Deepesh D, who was playing T20 for the first time played brilliantly. Kiran K was good, another spinner P Vignesh who has done well in age group cricket is a good prospect," he explained
Knew that team would click: Shahrukh
Shahrukh Khan, captain of Kovai also was confident ahead of the clash. In the Dindigul leg of the league, his side did not play to their potential. But they made amends in the Chennai leg. "We did not do anything special. I think because we knew that at some time or the other we will click," said Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh has been leading by example scoring vital runs down the order, so has he reserved his best for the final.
"I don't know. I'm just reacting as much as possible to the best of my abilities," he replied. The wicket for the final looks hard and dry as it did not rain the last two days which could promise a day full of runs.