Shivam steers Dragons to convincing victory 

Shivam Singh starred in Dindigul Dragons’ win against Lyca Kovai Kings in the opening match of the Tamil Nadu Premier League in Coimbatore on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: M. PERIASAMY

Shivam Singh’s unbeaten half-century (82 n.o., 50b, 5×4, 5×6) powered Dindigul Dragons to a convincing seven-wicket win over Lyca Kovai Kings in the opening match of TNPL-9 at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground here on Thursday.

Chasing a moderate target of 150, opener Shivam started cautiously before seamlessly switching gears and delivering some lusty blows.

Shivam, who was dropped on one, found able support from R. Vimal Khumar as the duo added 64 runs for the second wicket. The opener cut, swept and pulled en route his half-century. Once he crossed 50, he cut loose and closed out the game in style by smashing pacer Govinth for consecutive sixes as the defending champion romped home with 16 balls to spare.

Earlier, Dragons’ skipper R. Ashwin opted to field first, and his bowlers backed up the decision with a disciplined effort to restrict Kovai Kings to 149 for eight. Only B. Sachin put up a fight for the home team, scoring 51.

The openers lacked intent and struggled to score boundaries against Ashwin and pacer Sandeep
Warrier.

Sachin and Andre Siddarth then came together for a 62-run alliance for the third wicket to set a platform for the Kings. Sachin was the aggressor in the partnership and was strong off the backfoot, targeting the square region behind the wicket on the off-side.

However, a mix-up between the duo meant Andre was run out in the 13th over. From there, the Dragons struck at regular intervals to restrict the two-time champion to a below-par total and kickstart its title defence on the right note.

The scores: Lyca Kovai Kings 149/8 in 20 overs (B. Sachin 51, Warrier 2/27, Ashwin 2/33, Periyasamy 2/30) lost to Dindigul Dragons 154/3 in 17.2 overs (Shivam Singh 82 n.o., Shahrukh Khan 2/26).

Friday’s match: IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans vs Chepauk Super Gillies (7.15 p.m.).