Well begun is half done. Madurai Panthers established itself as the side to watch out for in TNPL-10 by winning its first four games.

Though there was a stumble after that, Panthers closed out the league stage strongly with a 72-run thrashing of Nellai Royal Kings to finish top of the table. That proved vital as it helped the Madurai side reach the final after its Qualifier 1 against second-placed Trichy Grand Cholas was washed out.

Panthers will now look to fulfil that early-season promise when it takes on Vida Kovai Kings in the summit clash at the MAC Stadium here on Friday.

B. Anirudh Sita Ram’s men have shown great tenacity to conjure victories from tough situations. The former champion’s campaign has been a case of the team being greater than the sum of its parts.

Its top-two run scorers — Atheeq Ur Rahman and N.S. Chaturved — are ninth and 11th on the chart while none of its bowlers is among the top-10 wicket-takers. Unlike the panthers in the wild, this Madurai outfit has worked effectively as a collective.

Like Panthers, Kovai Kings also benefited from a washout to advance out of the Eliminator clash against iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans based on league standings.

The side’s strength has been its potent bowling line-up led by pacers Deeban Lingesh and G. Kishoor while M. Siddharth and Jhathavedh Subramanyan form a formidable spin combo. On the batting front, Kovai Kings have been over-reliant on B. Sachin. But fortunately for the Coimbatore unit, opener S. Lokeshwar and skipper M. Shahrukh Khan have found form in recent outings.

It could come down to the battle between Panthers’ batting depth and Kovai Kings’ varied bowling attack in what promises to be an intriguing finale.

A confident Madurai Panthers skipper B. Anirudh Sita Ram revealed that the team’s pre-auction work in identifying the right talent came to fruition in TNPL-10. He was speaking ahead of the title decider against Vida Kovai Kings on Friday.

“We knew that to win a tournament we needed the players to perform as a team, not as individuals. Going back [in the past few years], we had many individual talents. But as a team, we couldn’t cross that line. This year, we looked to fix those issues and bring in talent who could step up right away. In every game, we could see a new performer get us through,” said Anirudh.

Meanwhile, Kovai Kings captain M. Shahrukh Khan was pleased with how his side had come good in the business end of the competition. After just one victory in its first four games, the two-time champion won its final three league matches to qualify for the playoffs.

“We have been doing the same thing from the start. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t. But the most important thing is to follow what we have planned and do it as consistently as possible. Soon we are bound to get results. We have been keeping at it, and fortunately, we have been peaking at the right time,” said Shahrukh.