TNPL 2023: Nellai Royal Kings players remind fans of Saeed Ajmal-Shoaib Malik's iconic drop catch in bizarre incident

The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) has witnessed some phenomenal cricket over the years. The league has also helped identify some promising talents who have made a mark later in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 2023 edition of the tournament has also been a spectacular affair with some fantastic matches being played every now and then.

The Qualifier 2 encounter between Nellai Royal Kings and Dindigul Dragons saw some riveting action as both teams gave it their all to reach the summit clash. Eventually, the Arun Karthik-led side made it to the finals after chasing 186 runs. During the encounter, one of the most bizarre moments in cricket history was recreated by the Nellai players.

Cricket fans might surely remember the famous confusion between Saeed Ajmal and Shoaib Malik that resulted in both players dropping Chris Gayle's catch in a game against the West Indies in 2008. They both chased the ball, but kept looking at each other in the end instead of catching is, as the ball landed between them.

A similar incident happened in Qualifier 2 where Suboth Bhati top-edged a ball in the first innings and Lakshay Jain ran for the catch. However, he wasn’t the only fielder running for the ball. Wicketkeeper Rithik Easwaran was also in the race and so was the fielder at short third-man.

In the end, a massive miscommunication among the three fielders resulted in the ball landing on the ground. Nobody got a hand on the ball as the Nellai players lost a huge opportunity. When the Ajmal-Malik incident happened, not many would have felt that they would see something like it again. However, history has repeated itself and this time, three fielders were involved, not two.

Nellai Royal Kings to face Lyka Kovai Kings in the TNPL 2023 final

The 2023 TNPL final will be held in Tirunelveli on July 12, Wednesday. Nellai Royal Kings will lock horns with Lyca Kovai Kings in the summit clash.

Lyca Kovai Kings, led by Shahrukh Khan, defeated Dindigul Dragons by 30 runs in Qualifier 1 in Salem to get to the finals. Lyca Kovai Kings and Nellai Royal Kings met in the league stage in Coimbatore last month. The game went down to the wire as Nellai won off the last ball of the innings.