Rakshann Readdi’s four-wicket haul sets up Nalgonda Knights victory
Rakshann Readdi's four-wicket haul and Varun Goud's three wickets restricted Karimnagar Diamonds to 130 before Nitish Reddy's composed half-century guided Anurag Nalgonda Knights to a six-wicket victory in the rain-affected HCA Sreenidhi University TG20 match
Hyderabad: A disciplined bowling effort led by Rakshann Readdi and Varun Goud, followed by Nitish Reddy’s composed 52, helped Anurag Nalgonda Knights register their first win in the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s Sreenidhi University TG20 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here late on Wednesday night.
In what was the second match of the day, interrupted by rain, the Knights comfortably chased down a revised target of 117 in 17 overs to defeat EIPL & Eleve Karimnagar Diamonds by six wickets.
After a cautious start, Diamonds skipper Tanmay Agarwal shifted gears in the third over, taking 15 runs off Nishanth Saranu to inject momentum into the innings. His aggressive intent set an early tone as the Diamonds began to put pressure on the Nalgonda Knights.
Tanmay continued to dominate, combining crisp boundary-hitting with smart strike rotation alongside Sai Sharan (15 off 18). The pair stitched together a valuable opening partnership, with Tanmay bringing up the 50-run stand in style with a six. However, just as the Diamonds looked set, Arfaz Ahmed provided the breakthrough, dismissing the skipper for a fluent 46 off 26 deliveries.
The Knights capitalised on the wicket immediately. Satwik Reddy managed just 1 off 7 balls before edging behind to hand Varun Goud his first wicket of the evening. Goud struck again in the same over, removing Sai Sharan (15 off 18), who was caught by Nitish Reddy, leaving the Diamonds under pressure.
Following a rain interruption, Goud picked up where he left off, dismissing Rahul Radesh (1 off 2) to claim his third wicket. Rakshann Readdi then joined the party, accounting for Chandan Sahani (1 off 3) as Karimnagar slumped to 65/5.
With the innings in danger of unravelling, Harish Thakur (21 off 23) and Shubham Sharma (20 off 16) attempted to steady the ship. The duo battled through a difficult phase, but boundaries remained hard to come by. Just when the partnership began to show promise and the Diamonds crossed the 100-run mark, Readdi struck again, bowling Shubham to halt the recovery.
Readdi returned in the 18th over to add two more wickets to his tally, finishing with an impressive 4/20. His spell effectively sealed the Diamonds’ fate as the innings ended on the final ball for 130, capping a disciplined bowling performance from the Knights.
Chasing a revised target of 117 in 17 overs, the Nalgonda Knights suffered an early setback when Harish Thakur struck in the second over, dismissing Pranav Suryadevara for a quickfire 11 off just five deliveries.
The Diamonds struck again soon after as Gaurav Reddy (4 off 8) holed out to Satish Kumar, giving Rathlavath Dinesh his first wicket of the innings. At 22/2, the Knights needed a steady partnership to regain control of the chase.
Nitish Reddy and skipper Rahul Buddhi responded with a measured stand. The pair kept the scoreboard moving, with Nitish hitting timely boundaries before Narayana Teja broke the partnership by removing Buddhi for 5 off 13 balls.
Undeterred, Nitish continued to anchor the chase with a composed knock, finding the perfect balance between caution and aggression. He found an able ally in Divesh Singh, who kept the pressure on the bowlers with an enterprising innings. The pair steadily chipped away at the target, ensuring the required rate never became a concern.
Nitish brought up a well-crafted half-century in just 33 deliveries, but his impressive innings came to an end when Ashish Srivastav dismissed him for 52 off 36 balls. By then, however, the Knights were firmly in command of the contest.
With only 16 runs needed for victory, Divesh Singh put the finishing touches on the chase. The unbeaten batter smashed a six off Shubham Sharma to seal the win with three overs to spare, finishing on 36 not out from 18 deliveries and guiding the Knights to their first victory of the season in convincing fashion.
The scores: Karimnagar Diamonds 130 (Tanmay Agarwal 46, Harish Thakur 21, Rakshann Readdi 4/20, Varun Goud 3/8) lost to Anurag Nalgonda Knights 121/4 in 14 overs (Nitish Reddy 52, Divesh Singh 36 n.o., Rathlavath Dinesh 1/10).
Player of the match: Rakshann Readdi.
