APL 2022 | GOD vs UTL | Pramod and Lakshman stranglehold Godavari Titans in Uttarandhra Lions' commanding win

As the Andhra Premier League (APL) 2022 nears its knockout stage, the competition continues to get intense. 

With Godavari Titans (GOD) and Uttarandhra Lions (UTL), the two bottom-placed teams in the tournament, clashing against one another, the match ought to go down to the wire.

For Uttarandhra Lions, Kothakoona Lakshman's 34-ball 47 eventually turned out as a game-changing knock. 

While Y Pramod's three-for ensured a 150-run target for the Lions, Lakshman's second-inning exploits assured them of a three-wicket victory. 

The trumpet blew for the 14th match of the season as GOD opted to bat first after winning the toss. The trend continued, in which after an early first wicket, a formidable second-wicket stand resurrected the ship.

The protagonists, in this case, were M Hemanth Reddy and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who did the recovery job with their 51-run partnership. 

However, as UTL's Y Pramod and U Ahitesh Viswanadha Varma made the middle-order batters bite the dirt with their splendid spells, it called for an M Dheeraj special. 

In a fitting end to the innings, Dheeraj slammed 34 runs off a mere 13 deliveries to help the Titans finish at 149/8 after 20 overs.

UTL had a woeful start, enough to force them to ponder if they had given away too many runs in the slog overs. After 3.4 overs, they had lost Gutta Rohit and Gulfaam Saleh, with just 30 runs showing on the scoreboard. 

However, skipper Srikar Bharat and Lakshman's sumptuous knocks led them towards the doors of victory. While Bharat smashed a 20-ball 36, Lakshman played a 47-run knock that came off 34 deliveries.

While both the batters were bested by SK Ismail, who took a three-for, Mohammad Rafi's 11-run cameo seized the deal for the Uttarandhra Lions. 

Brief scores:

Godavari Titans - 149/8 (20)

M Hemanth Reddy 39(38), Nitish Kumar Reddy 35(27);

Y Pramod 3-31 (4), U Ahitesh Viswanadha Varma 2-16 (3)

Uttarandhra Lions - 150/7 (19.1)

Kothakoona Lakshman 47(34), Srikar Bharat 36(20);

SK Ismail 3-23 (4), Yara Sandeep 2-23 (4)

Uttarandhra Lions won by three wickets.