Madurai Panthers overturn the blip in the first qualifier with a thumping win in this game. 

It was set-up by their bowlers and Arun Karthik scored a crucial 79 from 56 deliveries which led them to a win. Lyca Kovai Kings never had enough on the board. Yes, their bowlers defended 137 in the previous game but asking them to do it again today was a bit too much. 

Also, Karthik showed his experience of batting through the innings and seeing his side home. Skipper Rohit stuck with Karthik though he struggled with his timing and that 76-run stand made all the difference to the chase.

Earlier in the match, Panthers were in a huddle, they were a happy unit after their bowling effort. 

The intent from Kovai Kings was missing today. The pitch isn't the best one but batsmen should have gone after the bowling much earlier. They kept losing wickets at the regular intervals and could never shift gears. 

The 18th over fetched them 22 runs and that assisted them in reaching 125. The target doesn't look enough but this is a knockout match, with the place in the final up for grabs. And they will have to chase it down against the best bowling side in the tournament. 

Brief Scores: Madurai Panthers 131/3 (Arun Karthik 79, D Rohit 30; S Manigandan 1/23) beat Lyca Kovai Kings 127/5 (Ashwin Venkataraman 45, Prasanth Rajesh 29; Abhishek Tanwar 3/28) by 7 wickets