Batters win you games, but bowlers win you tournaments. In TNPL-10, Vida Kovai Kings proved it right as its potent bowling attack secured its third title in five years, beating Madurai Panthers by 82 runs in the final here on Friday.

The title decider began with a glitzy closing ceremony, and in the end, it was M. Shahrukh Khan’s men who shone brightly under lights.

Since 2022, Shahrukh has led the franchise to the summit clash on four occasions, underscoring its consistency. Despite a mega auction in between, the team managed to retain its core group of players while also adding some exciting talents.

Apart from the skipper, top-order batter B. Sachin and spinners M. Siddharth and Jhathavedh Subramanyan were part of the set-up which last won in 2023, and their experience proved handy in the end.

Sachin shouldered the batting load in the first part of the season, and once the others started to chip in, Kovai Kings’ bowling attack could bundle out opponents easily.

As far as the tournament as a whole is concerned, one criticism it faced in recent years was that the pitches were not conducive for high-scoring games, which in turn affected the batters’ development in the shortest format.

Although the competition was played at only two venues this year, the surfaces were batting-friendly and saw the most runs scored in a single edition.

Amongst youngsters, the biggest positive was the emergence of pacer D. Deepesh, who clocked speeds in excess of 140 kph. The 18-year-old’s rise should excite TN ahead of the domestic season.

Since its third SMAT title in 2021, TN’s fortunes in T20 cricket have dipped drastically, and it has failed to qualify for the knockouts ever since. As the State team looks to regain its footing at the National level, it remains to be seen if some of the performers in the league can deliver at a bigger stage.

Awards: Highest wicket-taker: Deeban Lingesh (Kovai Kings); Highest run-scorer: B. Sachin (Kovai Kings); Most dependable player: Deeban Lingesh (Kovai Kings); Player-of-the-Tournament: B. Sachin (Kovai Kings).

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.

Vida Kovai Kings progressed to Qualifier 2 of the TNPL after its Eliminator against iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans was washed out at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Monday.

Kovai Kings and Tamizhans were placed third and fourth on the table, with both teams on eight points. But Kovai Kings had the superior Net Run Rate of 1.638, compared to Tamizhans’ -0.013, and thus advanced to the next stage.

The match had promised intriguing battles, with the Shahrukh Khan-led side boasting the tournament’s two most economical bowlers in left-arm spinner M. Siddharth (nine wickets at 5.46) and leggie Jhathavedh Subramanyan (13 at 6.29).

Tamizhans’ openers Amith Sathvik (striking at 212.74) and left-hander Tushar Raheja (193.08) arrived as the competition’s two fastest-scoring batters.

Kovai Kings’ pace duo of Deeban Lingesh (12) and G. Kishoor (10) had also been among the wickets, providing further edge to the Eliminator.

Asked to bat, Tamizhans made an unusually sedate start, reaching 15 without loss in three overs before a heavy downpour brought play to a halt.

Deeban, bowling with the wicketkeeper standing up to the stumps, and Siddharth kept things tight, denying the openers the kind of start they had become accustomed to this season.

The scores: iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans 15/0 in three overs vs. Vida Kovai Kings. Match called off due to rain.

Wednesday’s match (Qualifier 2): Trichy Grand Cholas vs. Vida Kovai Kings (7.30 p.m.).

Shahrukh Khan, captain of two-time TNPL champion Kovai Kings, expressed confidence in delivering a good show in the 10th edition.

The Kovai franchise finished sixth last year, failing to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2021. But the skipper believed that the team, playing under a new ownership and rebranded as Vida Kovai Kings, had all the ingredients to put up a much better performance.

“I always try to pick a young team, and we’ve done that this year as well. There’s a new face to the franchise with new owners. We all feel that we have a team which can qualify. After that, it is just one game at a time,” said Shahrukh at the jersey unveiling event on Tuesday.

A settled core of players helped Kings win the title in 2022 (shared with Chepauk Super Gillies) and 2023 and led them to a runner-up finish in 2024.

Having lost some of his key members at last year’s auction, Shahrukh said that the side was focused on rebuilding its nucleus. The core is set to include R.S. Ambrish, who was part of the India under-19 World Cup-winning squad earlier in the year.

“Yeah, it’s good to have people from u-19s come and play. They’ve seen the pressure. They’ve played finals in u-19s. Obviously, this pressure is a bit more than what it is there. But still, these guys respond well to any situation that’s given to them,” Shahrukh remarked.