Vida Kovai Kings progressed to Qualifier 2 of the TNPL after its Eliminator against iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans was washed out at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Monday.

Kings and Tamizhans were placed third and fourth on the points table, with both teams on eight points. But Kings had the superior Net Run Rate of 1.638, compared to Tamizhans’ -0.013, and thus advanced to the next stage.

The contest had promised an intriguing battle, with Kings boasting the tournament’s two most economical bowlers in left-arm spinner M. Siddharth (nine wickets at 5.46) and leg-spinner Jhathavedh Subramanyan (13 at 6.29), while Tamizhans’ openers Amith Sathvik (striking at 212.74) and left-hander Tushar Raheja (193.08) arrived as the competition’s two fastest-scoring batters.

Kings’ pace duo of K. Deeban Lingesh (12) and G. Kishoor (10) had also been among the wickets, adding further edge to the Eliminator.

Asked to bat, Tamizhans made an unusually sedate start, reaching 15 without loss in three overs before a heavy downpour brought play to a halt.

Deeban, bowling with the wicketkeeper standing up to the stumps, and Siddharth kept things tight, denying the openers the kind of start they had become accustomed to this season.