Capt: Jermaine Blackwood | 4th place qualifier | 2025 Runners-Up
⚠️ Southern Super Stars DISQUALIFIED: SSS have been disqualified from LLC 2026 (reasons not confirmed publicly). India Tigers were awarded 2 points from their match vs SSS. This altered the final playoff qualification table — the four semi-finalists are India Tigers (1st), Royal Riders Punjab (2nd), Mumbai Spartans (3rd), and Konark Suryas Odisha (4th). The usual Qualifier 1/Eliminator format becomes: India Tigers vs KSO (SF1, winner to Final) and RRP vs Mumbai Spartans (SF2, winner to Final).
📊 Final Points Table — Top 4 Qualifiers
#TeamPWLNRR
1🐯 India Tigers ⚡ SF15+3+1+0.52
2💜 Royal Riders Punjab ⚡ SF2532+0.40
3🔴 Mumbai Spartans ⚡ SF2523-0.60
4🌞 Konark Suryas Odisha ⚡ SF1514-1.20
Season Form — All Results
🐯 India Tigers — Season
vs RRP (M2, Mar 12) — WON by 20 runs (168/8)
vs MSP (M4, Mar 15) — LOST by 17 runs (Leverock 6 sixes!)
vs IC (M8, Mar 18) — WON by 4 wkts (Mendis 42 off 30)
vs KSO (M10, Mar 20) — ABANDONED (rain, 1pt)
vs IC (Mar 20 rescheduled) — WON
vs SSS (Mar 22/24) — AWARDED (SSS disqualified)
🌞 Konark Suryas Odisha — Season
vs SSS (M3, Mar 13) — ABANDONED (Coimbatore rain)
vs IC (M4, Mar 14) — WON by 18 runs (Karia 37* POTM)
vs RRP (M5, Mar 15) — LOST by 43 runs (113 all out!)
vs IT (M10, Mar 20) — ABANDONED (rain)
vs SSS (Mar 23 rescheduled) — LOST
vs MSP (M12, Mar 24) — LOST
vs IT (M10, rescheduled Mar 25) — result pending
Season’s Top Performers
93
Kuldeep Hooda IT top scorer
4
Abu Nechim IT wickets
78
Morne van Wyk KSO top scorer
4
Saurin Thakar KSO wickets
Confirmed Squads
🐯 India Tigers
Captain: Aaron Finch
Chris Gayle, Shikhar Dhawan, Aaron Finch, Kuldeep Hooda (93 runs), Robin Uthappa, Pawan Negi, Amitoze Singh, Tilakratne Dilshan, Samit Patel, Shahbaz Nadeem, Ambati Rayudu, Jeevan Mendis (42 off 30 vs IC), Milinda Siriwardana, Shadab Jakati, Abu Nechim, Kirk Edwards, Thilan Thushara
🌞 KSO
Captain: Jermaine Blackwood Morne van Wyk (wk) (78 runs, avg 39), Kennar Lewis, Jermaine Blackwood (c), Chirag Gandhi, Jesal Karia (37* POTM vs IC), Saurin Thakar (4 wkts), Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Miguel Cummins, Malinda Pushpakumara, Ben Dunk, Ross Taylor, Ankit Rajpoot, Rayad Emrit, R. Ashwin
Match Preview — Table Toppers vs Underdogs
India Tigers enter as clear favourites — they finished top of the league table and have the most battle-tested lineup in LLC 2026. The opening combination of Chris Gayle, Shikhar Dhawan and Aaron Finch is the most star-studded in the competition. Kuldeep Hooda (93 runs) has been the tournament’s most consistent batter. The fact that SSS were disqualified and Tigers were awarded those 2 points adds to their psychological confidence going into the semis.
Konark Suryas Odisha’s path to the semi-finals has been through survival — 1 win from completed matches, 2 abandonments that gave them points they didn’t earn on the field. The 2025 runners-up (who lost to SSS in a Super Over Final) carry the heavy expectation of a squad that was expected to challenge for the title. Instead, batting collapses (113 all out vs RRP) and Jermaine Blackwood’s poor personal form have defined their campaign. But KSO have match-winners — Jesal Karia’s POTM performance vs India Captains showed what this squad can produce when everything clicks.
💧 Afternoon Match — No Dew Factor: SF1 is the afternoon match (2:30 PM IST). No significant dew expected in the afternoon — this suits both teams’ spinners and gives a level playing field. Teams winning the toss should consider batting first in clear afternoon conditions.
Key Players to Watch
Kuldeep Hooda
India Tigers • Bat
93 runs in season — tournament’s best batter. Anchors IT’s middle order with technique and timing
Chris Gayle
India Tigers • Opener
Universe Boss — a Gayle powerplay assault can single-handedly end a semi-final before over 7
Morne van Wyk
KSO • WK-Bat
78 runs (avg 39) — KSO’s anchor, must bat the full 20 overs to give KSO a chance at finals
Jesal Karia
KSO • All-rounder
37*(24) + 1 wkt POTM — KSO’s match-winner. A Karia performance can swing any T20 semi-final
🏆 Predicted Winner
India Tigers
Confidence: 68% — Table leaders, Gayle-Dhawan-Finch too powerful, Hooda in supreme form
⭐ Suggested XI
Morne van WykWKKSO
Kuldeep HoodaCIT
Chris GayleIT
Shikhar DhawanIT
Jermaine BlackwoodVCKSO
Jesal KariaKSO
Samit PatelIT
Jeevan MendisIT
Saurin ThakarKSO
Abu NechimIT
Piyush ChawlaKSO
📋 Breakdown
Wicket-keeper1 — Van Wyk
Batters3
All-rounders3
Bowlers4
India Tigers7 players
KSO4 players
Kuldeep Hooda
🏏 Captain Pick
Jermaine Blackwood
🏏 Vice-Captain
Jesal Karia
🎯 Differential
📺 Broadcast: Sony Sports 1 & 3 | FanCode & SonyLIV | Willow TV (USA) | Fox Cricket & Kayo (Australia) | Final is March 27 at Haldwani!
