The Qualifier 2 of the GMR Andhra Premier League (APL) 2025, held at the ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium on Friday, August 22, ended in Tungabhadra Warriors favour, who beat Bhimavaram Bulls by five wickets. Warriors chased down the target of 184 in 19 overs. Tungabhadra’s top-order batter Gutta Rohit became the player of the match (POTM) for putting together a match-winning knock of 87 off 40.
Earlier, at the toss, Warriors’ skipper K Maheep Kumar emerged triumphant and invited Bhimavaram to bat first. Pacer KV Sasikanth delivered the early breakthrough to Tungabhadra as he got rid of K Revanth Reddy, who fell in the fifth over of the contest after scoring 19 off 17. In the next over, Nimmala Himakar also followed Revanth to the dugout with just 23 runs from 15 balls to his name. Himakar lost his battle against M Deepak.
Skipper M Hemanth Reddy failed to be impactful in the big game as he became the victim of M Deepak after accumulating seven runs off nine balls. With Bulls reeling at a total of 62/3 in 8.1 overs, TV Sai Sravan and Muvvala Yuvan stepped up and stitched a 90-run partnership off 56 deliveries.
Yuvan departed after chipping in with his crucial 41 off 31 while Sravan stayed at the crease until the end, scoring unbeaten 71 off 40, an innings which had three fours and six sixes. Bhimavaram put up a very good total of 183/5 on the board in their 20 overs. Deepak became the most impactful bowler for Warriors as the left-arm pacer clinched 4/30 figures in his four-over spell.
Chasing the 184-run target, Tungabhadra lost three batters at a score of 36 in five overs. CR Gnaneshwar lost his wicket on the first delivery against M Hari Shankar Reddy at the start of the second over. The next over Bhuvaneshwar Patnala cleaned up J Jai Chander Kesavaa and delivered the second breakthrough to Bulls. In the crunch situation, skipper K Maheep Kumar also failed to hold his nerve and became Shankar Reddy’s second scalp.
However, Gutta Rohit didn’t lose hope and built an effective 125-run stand with DB Prashanth off just 67 balls. Rohit brought his fifty in 29 balls and brought Warriors back into the game. He concluded his knock after hammering a swift 87 in 40 deliveries, which included three fours and nine sixes. Following his departure, Prashanth took the matter into his hands and completed Tungabhadra’s pursuit of the target.
DB Prashanth racked up an unbeaten 64 off 41. His innings included eight boundaries (four fours and four sixes). MK Datta Reddy, who came to bat at number seven, also hoarded an unbeaten 14 off nine.
With this sensational triumph, Tungabhadra Warriors joined Capital Amaravathi Royals in the final of the GMR APL 2025, to be played on Saturday, August 23. The winner of the upcoming match will lift the distinguished trophy. Both teams have played against each other on two occasions, thus far, in this competition and Royals emerged victorious in both instances.