Trichy were 0 for 3 after three balls, and Kovai are in the TNPL final
K Deeban Lingesh took a hat-trick with the first three balls of Trichy Grand Cholas’ chase, and Kovai Kings won Qualifier 2 by 84 runs to set up a final against Madurai Panthers on Friday.
Aug 27, 2026
Trichy Grand Cholas needed 184 to reach the Tamil Nadu Premier League final. Three balls into the chase they were 0 for 3, and the rest of the night was a formality.
A hat-trick to open the innings
K Deeban Lingesh had K Rajkumar caught behind off the first ball at Chepauk on Wednesday night. Trichy sent it upstairs and the review was struck down. The second ball took the edge of S Shyam Sundar and Balasubramaniam Sachin held the catch. The third bowled Jagannathan Kaushik. Three balls, three wickets, and a hat-trick before anyone had scored a run.
It got worse before it got better. Manimaran Siddharth had Sanjay Yadav caught behind in the fourth over and bowled Jafar Jamal next ball. Jamal had walked in as Trichy’s Impact Player one delivery earlier, replacing K Easwaran, and his tournament finished with a first-ball duck. Trichy were 6 for 5 inside four overs, and the powerplay brought them 26 runs for the loss of five.
Suresh Kumar, the captain and wicketkeeper, made 48 off 27 with nine fours and added 50 for the sixth wicket. He went at 60 in the ninth over, and after that the only question was how long it would take. Trichy were all out for 99 in 15.4 overs. Siddharth finished with 4 for 11 from his four overs. Deeban Lingesh, who took the match award, had 3 for 14.
Kovai’s openers had already settled it
Kovai won the toss, batted, and put on 104 for the first wicket. Radhakrishnan made 48 off 34, Suresh Lokeshwar 66 off 44 with eight fours. M Shahrukh Khan came in with under six overs left and hit 34 off 18 to carry them to 183 for 5. R Rajkumar was the one Trichy bowler who held up, taking 3 for 29.
That is twice this month Kovai have dismantled the same opponent. On 15 August they made 201 for 6 and bowled Trichy out for 85, winning by 116.
Friday’s final, and the chase Kovai have not forgotten
Madurai Panthers were already through. Qualifier 1 on 23 August was abandoned after 4.5 overs, which sent Madurai up as the higher-placed side, and the Eliminator the following night lasted three overs before the rain arrived, which put Kovai ahead of Tiruppur Tamizhans on league position. Qualifier 2 was the first playoff match of the season to reach a result.
The final is at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday at 7.30pm. Madurai topped the table with five wins from seven. Kovai finished third on eight points, with a net run rate of 1.638 that no other side came close to.
The two met once in the league, at Dindigul on 8 August, and that is the game Kovai will be thinking about. They made 239 for 4 and lost. NS Chaturved hit 121 off 47 and Madurai got home with three balls in hand.
Madurai have won this competition once, in 2018. Kovai shared the 2022 title with Chepauk Super Gillies after that final was washed out, won it outright in 2023, then lost the 2024 final to Dindigul Dragons. Friday is their fourth final in five seasons.