Abhishek Tanwar to Sujay, no run, pitched up on off, Sujay leans ahead and eases it towards mid-off

Sujay and Suresh Kumar are at the crease. Sujay is on strike. Abhishek Tanwar will open the attack

The players and the umpires stride out to the middle. The fireworks go off as TNPL 2024 is about to kick off! Great scenes out here.

Teams:

Chepauk Super Gillies (Playing XI): N Jagadeesan(w), Baba Aparajith(c), Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Jitendra Kumar, Daryl Ferrario, Rajagopal Sathish, Abhishek Tanwar, M Silambarasan, Aswin Crist, Ganeshan Periyaswamy, Rahil Shah

Lyca Kovai Kings (Playing XI): S Sujay, J Suresh Kumar(w), Balasubramaniam Sachin, Shahrukh Khan(c), U Mukilesh, Atheeq Ur Rahman, Ram Arvindh, M Mohammed, Manimaran Siddharth, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Valliappan Yudheeswaran

Chepauk Super Gillies have won the toss and have opted to field

19:01 Local Time, 13:31 GMT, 19:01 IST: The toss has been delayed.

Now, let’s have a look at some prominent players from both sides. Shahrukh Khan and Sai Sudharsan are at the helm of Kovai Kings while youngsters like U Mukilesh, Ram Arvindh, and Manimaran Siddharth are highly capable. Sai Sudharsan has already had international exposure in the T20 format while Siddharth, a slow left-arm spinner, recently played for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024. Talking about the Super Gillies, experienced campaigners like Jagadeesan, Baba Aparajith, Rajagopal Satish and Abhishek Tanwar hold the key for them. There are some exciting youngsters in their squad as well. In the last five matches between these two sides, the Super Gillies have won thrice, lost once and the other one was a no result. Expect a cracker tonight! Can the Super Gillies get off to a flying start? Or will the Kovai Kings begin their title defence in style? Stick around for the toss and team lineups...

18:00 Local Time, 12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST: The pulsating feeling of the T20 World Cup win is still vibrating throughout India. While the celebrations continue, franchise cricket continues to enthrall us from different parts of the globe. The stage is set for the eighth season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League to roll! Eight teams will battle it out in the quest for glory. The defending champions, Lyca Kovai Kings, will take on Chepauk Super Gillies at Salem in the season opener. The Kovai Kings had a formidable campaign last year as they lost only one game in the whole competition. It was a stellar performance from the Kovai Kings as they took the grand finale by storm, taking down Nellai Royal with consummate ease. Meanwhile, the Super Gillies blew hot and cold and couldn’t make it to the playoffs last year. The Super Gillies have been a dominant team in the TNPL though and already have three titles in their kitty.

Squads:

Lyca Kovai Kings Squad: Sai Sudharsan, J Suresh Kumar(w), U Mukilesh, Ram Arvindh, Balasubramaniam Sachin, GV Vignesh, Shahrukh Khan(c), S Sujay, KM Om Prakash, M Mohammed, Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Manimaran Siddharth, R Divakar, Valliappan Yudheeswaran, Atheeq Ur Rahman, P Hemcharan, P Vidyuth

Chepauk Super Gillies Squad: Pradosh Ranjan Paul, N Jagadeesan(w/c), Baba Aparajith, Rajagopal Sathish, Daryl Ferrario, Arunachalam Venkatachalam, M Shajahan, Jitendra Kumar, M Silambarasan, Rahil Shah, Aswin Crist, Abhishek Tanwar, Lokesh Raj, Ganeshan Periyaswamy, Balu Surya, B Iyappan, S Madhan Kumar, R Sibi, Andre Siddarth C