The Eliminator of the GMR Andhra Premier League (APL) 2025 played between Vijayawada Sun Shiners and Bhimavaram Bulls at the ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, ended in the latter’s favour by six wickets on August 21. Bhimavaram captain M Hemanth Reddy led his team from the front and became the player of the match (POTM) for his excellent all-round performance (unbeaten 71 off 43 and 2/19 figures in four overs).
Earlier, Bulls captain M Hemanth Reddy won the toss and elected to field first. In the powerplay, Sun Shiners lost K Ashwin Hebbar and M Vamsi Krishna early. Satyanarayana Raju got rid of Hebbar, who could score only six off four while Vamsi got cleaned up by Challarapu Silva. GSP Teja looked nervous and became the victim of Hemanth Reddy.
Opener Munnangi Abhinav and Mycherla Dheeraj Kumar produced fifties from their bats. Abhinav fell against Hemanth after amassing 54 off 42 while Dheeraj departed after hammering an unbeaten 51 off 26. His innings included eight boundaries (three fours and five maximums).
KSN Raju and Zaheer Abbas couldn’t be impactful as they could score 2 (3) and 11 (9 ) respectively. Y Vasu also got dismissed on a duck. Gollapudi Sai Venkata Sumith and Y Prithvi Raj could score only four off five. Silva emerged as the most effective bowler for Vijayawada as he grabbed 4/35 figures in his three-over spell. Raju and M Hari Shankar Reddy got one wicket respectively. Captain Hemanth Reddy registered 2/19 figures after bowling four overs. Sun Shiners ended up posting 160 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs.
Chasing the target, Bhimavaram lost K Revanth Reddy in the fourth over but Nimmala Himakar and skipper Hemanth held their nerves in the knockout contest and produced solid knocks. Himakar lost his wicket against Y Prithvi Raj in the 11th over after accumulating 43 off 39. His innings included six boundaries (four fours and two sixes).
TV Sai Sravan could score only seven and became the second victim of Y Prithvi Raj. With Bulls struggling at a score of 103 in 12.5 overs, Hemanth stepped up and played attacking shots against the bowlers. Muvvala Yuvan kept one end and supported his captain. Yuvan’s innings came to an end after hoarding 13 runs after consuming 17 balls.
In the last five overs, Bhimavaram required 53 runs and Hemanth became more ferocious. Riding on his unbeaten 71 off 43, Bhimavaram chased down the target in 19.2 overs. Hemanth’s knock was studded with nine boundaries (three fours and six maximums). Bendalam Satvik also chipped in with his unbeaten 12 off four.
With this loss, Vijayawada are eliminated from GMR APL 2025 while Bhimavaram will clash against either Capital Amaravathi Royals or Tungabhadra Warriors in Qualifier 2 to be held on August 22. Amaravathi and Tungabhadra ended their league round as top teams, and they will square off against each other in Qualifier 1.