Salem, July 17:Ā M. Shahrukh Khan led from the front with the ball (4-0-13-3), dismantling Trichy Grand Cholasā top-order to secure a comfortable eight-wicket victory for Lyca Kovai Kings at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground on Tuesday.
This victory marks the defending champion’s fourth win of the season and the 11th consecutive win in the competition since 2023.
After winning the toss, Shahrukh chose to field first and spun a web around Cholasā batters, taking three wickets in his first two overs, reducing the Trichy side to 125 for nine. Shahrukh struck twice in his first over, trapping Waseem Ahmed leg-before and bowling Anthony Dhas with a brilliant off-break.
The Kovai Kings skipper claimed his third wicket in his next over when P.S. Nirmal Kumar skied one to deep midwicket. Cholas were struggling at 35 for six in the 10th over before R. Sanjay Yadav (34) and Jafar Jamal (41 n.o.) staged a recovery, adding 56 for the seventh wicket.
Chasing a moderate target, Kovai Kings started poorly with Athisayaraj Davidson delivering a double strike in the first over, including the prized wicket of B. Sai Sudharsan. However, U. Mukilesh (63 n.o., 54b, 6×4, 1×6) and B. Sujay (48 n.o.) quickly steadied the innings, playing elegant drives and cuts to find boundaries without taking risks. The duo stitched an unbroken 118-run partnership for the third wicket, leading their team to victory with 23 balls to spare.
Trichy Grand Cholas 124/9 in 20 overs (Jafar Jamal 41 n.o., R. Sanjay Yadav 34, Shahrukh Khan 3/14, Mohammed 3/23) vs Lyca Kovai Kings 125/2 in 16.1 overs (U. Mukilesh 63 n.o., B. Sujay 48 n.o, Athisayaraj Davidson 2/19).