Hyderabad, July 4 (IANS) Anvita Khammam Aces took a significant step towards confirming their place in the Playoffs of the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s TG20 after clinching a five-wicket win against Ranga Reddy Risers in the first match on Saturday. The win pushes Aces to third place on the points table.
Skipper CV Milind led the way as he bagged three wickets in the first innings to restrict Risers to 147/9. He also played a significant role with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 29 off 21 balls to guide his side over the finish line after vice-captain Himateja Kodimela laid the platform for the chase with a 28-ball 45. With this result, the Aces ensured that their destiny for the playoff spot remained in their hands.
Returning to the side, Aces captain CV Milind instantly made his presence felt as he dismissed Aaron George (4 off 2) in the second ball of the contest. Gnana Prakash Reddy delivered the counterpunch, scoring 15 runs in the third over, to help Risers get back on track. He played the aggressor in the partnership alongside Avanish Rao. The latter fell after scoring a subdued 12 off 10, with Harshith Sai getting the better of him and conceding a solitary run in the fifth over.
With Risers in a spot of bother at 38/2, Gnana Prakash and Aditya Javvaji stabilised the innings as they stitched together a 39-run stand. The pair rotated strike and capitalised on the loose deliveries to keep the scoreboard ticking before 16-year-old Ved Reddy dismissed Gnana Prakash in the tenth over, bringing an end to his 25-ball 36.
Shaik Azhar also chipped in to get rid of Raghava Pattapu (2 off 4) in the following over to have Risers reeling at 82/4. They once again had to bide their time to rebuild the innings with Aditya and Tanay Thyagarajann at the crease. The pair dragged their side past the three-figure mark in the thirteenth over as they looked to set the platform for a big finish.
Unfortunately for Risers, they weren’t able to provide the fireworks at the backend of the innings. Aditya’s well-constructed 43 off 37 balls was halted by Ved Reddy, who bagged his second wicket of the contest in the fifteenth over, triggering a collapse for the batting side.
Apart from Tanay’s 14 off 11 and Nitin Sai Yadav’s 19 off 16, no other batter in the lower order managed to score in double digits. The highlight of the innings came when the latter was dismissed courtesy a spectacular catch from Mickil Jaiswal, who plucked a one-handed blinder at long-off.
As a result, Risers only scored 31 runs in the last five overs. CV Milind proved to be the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/34, while Harshith and Ved Reddy bagged a couple of wickets each, restricting Risers to 147/9.
It was a tricky start to the run chase as Aces lost three wickets in the powerplay. Wafi Kachchhi (4 off 8) was the first to fall, dismissed by Aryan Cariappa in the second over. Despite the setback, Prateek Reddy and G Sai Krishna Reddy continued to play on the front foot, scoring 17 runs off the following over.
Risers struck back with twin strikes as T Arun Kumar and Sacheit Binjrajka dismissed Sai Krishna Reddy (17 off 7) and Prateek Reddy (14 off 11) respectively. However, Risers’ glimmer of hope was quickly wiped out by Himateja and Mickil.
The pair was firing on all cylinders and taking on the bowlers at will, powering their team to 66/3 in the powerplay. The partnership put the Aces well ahead of the run rate before the rain break added to the drama.
Aces had a shaky resumption as T Arun Kumar cleaned up Himateja immediately after the restart, breaking the 72-run stand. The district bowler bagged his third wicket as he got the better of Mickil in the fifteenth over. His efforts eventually went in vain as Milind and Sahendra Mallu (4* off 7) knocked the ball around and comfortably got Aces over the line with 17 balls to spare.
–IANS
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