APL 2022 | UTL vs VZW | Siddhardha, Sai Krishna leads Vizag Warriors' triumph over Uttarandhra Lions

In an action-packed clash between Uttarandhra Lions (UTL) and Vizag Warriors (VZW), it went down to last over that saw the latter pulling off the highest run-chase of the Andhra Premier League (APL) 2022.

As both the teams collided in the ninth match of the season, Vizag Warriors gathered their second consecutive win, with Chennu Siddhardha and Nakketla Jyothi Sai Krishna paving the way towards an emphatic victory.

With 177 runs to get in the second innings, the Warriors were hit with an early blow. Uppara Girinath took a long walk back to the dressing room for seven runs after being outdone by Y Pramod.

However, things changed for good in favour of Ashwin Hebbar and Co. While Krishna led a boundary-spree in his 47-run knock, the skipper played a second-fiddle, scoring 47 runs off 41 deliveries.

As soon as the 88-run stand for the second wicket was brought to an end by U Ahitesh Viswanadha Varma, the match again took a U-turn. Shoaib Md Khan claimed the wickets of Hebbar and Dhruva Kumar Reddy in the 14th over as the innings went through a collapse. 

Still, Naren Reddy's 20-ball 34 and quickfire 21 runs coming from Pathuri P Manohar's bat saved the day for VZW. As Reddy scored the winning hit, the Warriors chased the target with four wickets and five deliveries remaining.

Earlier, Uttarandhra Lions were sent to bat. Their openers, Gulfaam Saleh and Srikar Bharat started well, partnering for 56 runs. However, after Bharat perished as a result of a mix-up, the innings took a toll.

Despite not attaining an ideal finish, C Kranthi Kumar's knock of 41 runs pushed the Lions towards the first innings score of 176 in 20 overs.

Brief scores:

Uttarandhra Lions - 176/6 (20)

Srikar Bharat 42(30), C Kranthi Kumar 41(27);

Chennu Siddhardha 2-34 (4), Karthik Raman 1-24 (4)

Vizag Warriors - 177/6 (19.1)

Nakketla Jyothi Sai Krishna 47(26), Ashwin Hebbar 47(41);

Shoaib Md Khan 2-39 (4), Y Pramod 2-44 (4)

Vizag Warriors won by four wickets.