Deeban’s Golden Hat-Trick, Siddharth’s Four’Fer lead Kovai Kings into Final

Vida Kovai Kings delivered a dominant all-round performance to defeat Trichy Grand Cholas by 84 runs and book their place in the TNPL 2026 Final. M Siddharth's four-wicket haul and Deeban Lingesh's historic golden hat trick helped Kovai to a comprehensive victory and a title match against Madurai Panthers on August 28 at the M. A. Stade Chidambaram.

Vida Kovai Kings made a flying start as Radhakrishnan and Lokeshwar forged a 104-run opening stand after Trichy dropped both batters early. Before Lokeshwar was dismissed by Athisayaraj Davidson for a blistering 66 in 44 balls, he scored his seventh fifty in the TNPL.

Kovai's momentum was halted by Rajkumar R's three wickets, but captain Shahrukh Khan provided the final push with a brisk 34 off 18 balls as Kovai posted 183/5 and set Trichy a target of 184.

Kovai then turned the contest on its head from the very first over. Deeban Lingesh had an amazing first innings, getting rid of K Rajkumar, Shyam Sundar, and Kousik in the first three deliveries to claim a golden hat-trick. Deeban Lingesh became the first bowler in TNPL history to achieve this feat.

M Siddharth took two early wickets, adding to Trichy's woes as they were reeling. With a counter-attacking 48 off 27 balls, Captain Suresh Kumar attempted to restart the chase, but R S Ambrish put an end to his resistance.

Siddharth continued to afflict the Trichy batting order, scoring a fantastic four-wicket haul, and Kovai's bowlers continued to exert unrelenting pressure on the Trichy batsmen.

With the victory, Vida Kovai Kings booked their place in the TNPL 2026 Final and will now face Madurai Panthers in the title clash at M. A. On August 28, Chidambaram Stadium opened.

Reflecting on the loss, Saravana Kumar said - T20 cricket is all about momentum, and the early dropped catches cost us 15–20 runs. With our batting depth, 184 was a chaseable target, but losing quick wickets in the powerplay triggered a collapse. The partnership of Suresh Kumar and Rajkumar briefly gave us hope, but their bowlers did a good job, especially at the end. Although it's disappointing that we didn't make the final, we can take heart from our bowling team and top order.

Captain Shahrukh Khan reflected on the victory, stating, "We were scoring at approximately 10 runs per over until the seventh over, but their death bowling was exceptional and we were unable to accelerate at the end." Our openers gave us a sensational start and laid a strong platform. The team is accustomed to the pressure and understands the significance of keeping things simple because we have played knockout games in the last four or five matches. We grew up playing and training at Chepauk, so it's always a special experience to play there. I'm very happy to have helped out right away.