APL 2022 | VZW vs RYLS | Kings march to knockouts, Warriors end campaign with a seven-wicket defeat

The last league match of the Andhra Premier League (APL) 2022 saw Rayalaseema Kings' (RYLS) dominance, who, after their seven-wicket win versus Vizag Warriors (VZW), have booked a berth in the knockout stage of the competition.

Meanwhile, Vizag Warriors have missed out on the playoffs spot after suffering back-to-back defeats that brought an end to their campaign for this year.

While B Santosh Kumar broke VZW's back with his three-for, APL had its first centurion in the form of DB Prasanth Kumar, whose unbeaten 106-run knock cantered RYSL to a seven-wicket win.

Set on the run-chase, the Kings suffered an early setback at nil, with the target of 141 now appearing as a relatively difficult task compared to what it looked like during the innings break. 

However, with no second thought, Prasanth Kumar threw caution to the wind, taking the Warriors by surprise. As the scoreboard kept ticking, RYLS never took their foot off the pedal.

While Prasanth played the protagonist in pursuit of the target, there were quite a few supporting artists, with B Vinay Kumar emerging as the best among that lot. 

On the one hand, it was Prasanth's blitz that forced VZW to throw in the towel, while, on the other, it was Kumar, who, after his bowling brilliance, was sensible enough to ensure that RYSL faced no further setback after losing first three wickets at the score of 75.

After bringing his century with a pull, Parasnath did not waste much time finishing the game with a maximum over the mid-wicket region. With this, the Girinath-led team won the fixture with seven wickets and 16 balls to spare.

Earlier, after being put to bat, Ashwin Hebbar and Co. faced a nightmarish start, losing their four wickets for just 48 runs within nine overs. Then, however, Naren Reddy and Dhruva Kumar Reddy partnered for a 61-run stand to bring the innings back on track.

As Santosh Kumar concluded Naren's outing with the bat, it again became a bit dark for the Warriors. Still, Dhruva's 35-ball 53 helped his side post 140 runs on the scoreboard. 

Brief scores:

Vizag Warriors - 140/7 (20)

Dhruva Kumar Reddy 53*(35), Naren Reddy 34(33);

B Santosh Kumar 3-28 (4), B Vinay Kumar 2-14 (3)

Rayalaseema Kings - 146/3 (17.2)

DB Prasanth Kumar 106*(58), B Vinay Kumar 15*(12);

Vinukonda Venu 1-19 (2), Karthik Raman 1-26 (3)

Rayalaseema Kings won by 7 wickets.