Vijayawada Sun Shiners put up a dominating show against Capital Amaravathi Royals in the 21st game of the GMR Andhra Premier League (APL) 2025 played at the ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium played on August 19, 2025. Gollapudi Sai Venkatha Sumith became the player of the match (POTM) for his stunning bowling performance. In the first innings, he took a four-wicket haul which helped Sun Shiners to have a command over the game.
Earlier, Sun Shiners captain K Ashwin Hebbar won the toss and elected to bowl first. Within the powerplay, Royals lost their both openers Manyala Pranith and SV Rahul along with their middle-order batter SDNV Prasad. The three batters couldn’t rack up double-digit scores. In the crunch situation, Y Sandeep and AVV Vijay stitched a 42-run stand for the fourth wicket off 38 balls.
Vijay fell against spinner Y Vasu in the 11th over and the next batter BS Vinay Kumar lost his wicket on a duck against the spin wizard after playing only two balls. Sandeep and P Pandurangaraju strove to fight against Sun Shiners’ disciplined bowling but they also gave up after adding 22 runs together. In the 14th over, Y Prithvi Raj got the better of Pandurangaraju, who went back to the dugout after accumulating 16 off 12.
Sandeep also lost his battle to KSN Raju after scoring 53 off 39. The opener’s innings was studded with seven boundaries (six fours and a maximum). In the final overs of the innings, tailender I Karthik Raman flexed his muscles and hammered an unbeaten 19 off just 10 to help Amaravathi reach the total of 138 in 19.5 overs. Gollapudi Sai Venkatha Sumith emerged as the most effective bowler for Vijayawada as the right-arm pacer grabbed 4/29 figures in his 3.5 overs.
Chasing the target, Vijayawada saw the belligerence of their openers Munnangi Abhinav and skipper Hebbar. Hebbar took Amaravathi’s bowling attack to the cleaners and completed his fifty in just 24 balls. At the other end, Abhinav displayed composure to help his captain attack the bowlers comfortably. Both openers added 121-run together for the first wicket in just 66 balls.
Hebbar’s knock came to an end after smashing a quick 82 off just 38. He lost his wicket to Raman and Sun Shiners’ captain’s innings included 13 boundaries (six fours and seven sixes). After the right-handed batter’s dismissal, M Vamsi Krishna joined Abhinav in the middle and he also chipped in with eight runs.
In the 14th over, Krishna played a stroke towards the deep extra cover and stole a run which helped Sun Shiners attain their third win in the tournament. Abhinav returned to the pavilion with his unbeaten knock of 45 off 35. His innings included four boundaries (two fours and two maximums).
The round-robin stage of GMR APL 2025 ended with Amaravathi’s loss but they ended up as the most successful team with five wins and a loss in six outings. Sun Shiners concluded their league stage in third place with seven points earned through three triumphs and a no-result match in six contests. Both teams have reached the playoffs and now Vijayawada will clash against Bhimavaram Bulls in Eliminator to be played on August 21 while Amaravathi will take on Tungabhadra Warriors in Qualifier 1 on the same day in the evening fixture.