The third match of the GMR Andhra Premier League (APL) 2025 witnessed the dominance of Tungabhadra Warriors, who outclassed Simhadri Vizag Lions in all departments of the game, to emerge triumphant by seven wickets at the ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium on August 9. Tungabhadra skipper Maheep Kumar became the winner of the player of the match (POTM) for his unbeaten 57-run effort off 37 balls.
The toss favoured Warriors’ skipper Maheep Kumar and he invited Lions to bat first. Within the opening powerplay, Vizag witnessed themselves under massive trouble as they lost three wickets at a score of 38 in 5.1 overs. On the fifth ball of the match, left-handed pacer Cheepurapalli Stephen got Kogatam Haneesh Reddy caught at the hands of Prasanth Kumar and delivered the first blow to Vizag. Haneesh Reddy departed after scoring five off three.
In the next over, another speedster Toshith Yadav hunted the scalp of Dharani Kumar, who could amass only two off five. Yadav again showcased his courage in the sixth over when he got rid of Chennuboina Kumar, who was struggling to amass runs at a brisk pace. In the pressure situation, captain Ricky Bhui was expected to step up and play a potent knock but he also lost his wicket to Saurabh Kumar and went back to the dugout with two runs off four balls.
Marathala Dhanush and Kothakoona Lakshman also followed Bhui to the pavilion without making any major contribution. Opener Abhishek Reddy and Tripurana Vijay racked up 40 (34) and 22 (22) respectively, which helped Lions to reach the total of 109/9 in 20 overs. Toshith Yadav was the most effective for Tungabhadra as the speedster claimed 3/21 in four overs. Stephen and Chennu Siddhardha also got two wickets apiece after completing their four-over spells. KV Sasikantha and Saurabh Kumar grabbed one wicket respectively.
Chasing the low total, Warriors lost Shree Samanyu Dutta in the second over but CR Gnaneshwar and skipper Maheep played a fierce brand of cricket and built a crucial 84-run stand for the second wicket off just 52 balls. After the first powerplay, Tungabhadra posted a total of 62 runs with a loss of only one wicket. Maheep looked extraordinary and took advantage of the field restrictions brilliantly to collect runs swiftly.
Vizag’s bowling attack looked completely helpless against both Gnaneshwar and Kumar as both were looking ruthless while batting. Spinner Tripurana Vijay cleaned up Gnaneshwar, who concluded his knock of 40 off just 24. Majeep reached his fifty in just 34 balls and took his team close to the target.
Tripurana also picked up Prasanth Kumar but that didn’t make a huge difference for Tungabhadra, who chased down the target comfortably with 46 balls remaining in the contest. Skipper Maheep ended the game in style with a match-winning six against Bailapudi Yeswanth. Kumar remained unbeaten. His 57-run knock was studded with 10 boundaries (eight fours and two maximums).
Tungabhadra are now in first place in the GMR APL 2025 points table, while Lions are languishing at the bottom of the tally. Warriors’ next challenge will be against Capital Amaravathi Royals on August 11, while Vizag will take on Kakinada Kings on the same date in the evening game.