Super Gillies aims for a hat-trick of wins

 The high-flying Chepauk Super Gillies will be in a better frame of mind when it troops out to face Lyca Kovai Kings in the Sankar Cement Tamil Nadu Premier League Season 4 at the ICL Sankar Nagar Ground here on Sunday.

Since losing a close contest against Dindigul Dragons in the tournament opener, Super Gilles has been in fine form. It defeated Ruby Trichy Warriors and iDream Karaikudi Kaalai comfortably to pocket four points from three matches thus far. With successive victories under its belt, the 2017 champion will be brimming with confidence.

Captain Kaushik Gandhi, after a couple of low scores, decided to drop down to number three and that turned out to be a masterstroke against Karaikudi. Openers KH Gopinath and Ganga Sridhar Raju struck fifties, stitching a century stand at the top of the order. Coach Hemang Badani would want the trio to continue in the same vein of form against Kovai as well.

Pacers G Periyaswamy and D Rahul and left-arm spinner Ramadoss Alexandar shone with the ball against KK. The lead bowlers will once again strive to come good as CSG bids for its third consecutive success. Kings, which played Ruby Trichy Warriors on Saturday, will have no time to rest as another duel is lined up for it on Sunday.

CSG has a slight 3-2 edge in the head-to-head analysis, but LKK will be no pushover. The men from Coimbatore are the only ones to make it to the play-offs in every edition of the eight-team competition.

Defending champion Siechem Madurai Panthers will have to be on its toes when it lines up against VB Kanchi Veerans in the Sankar Cement Tamil Nadu Premier League 2019 at the ICL Sankar Nagar Ground here on Sunday.

After going down meekly to Lyca Kovai Kings in its opener, Veerans displayed remarkable fighting spirit in its massive 110-run victory over iDream Karaikudi Kaalai. In contrast, Madurai started its campaign in emphatic fashion, registering a thumping nine-wicket win over Tuti Patriots. It then suffered a 30-run defeat at the hands of last year’s finalist Dindigul Dragons.

The Baba Aparajith-led side will enter the game high on confidence and another factor that goes in its favour is the head-to-head (2-1) record. SMP, thus, will have its task cut out and captain KB Arun Karthick, who was dismissed for 24 against DD after remaining 65 not out in the first match against Patriots, will be keen to lead from the front.