Rayalaseema Kings start their defence of the Andhra Premier League crown in style

Vizag, 1st July: Last season’s Andhra Premier League champions Rayalaseema Kings won by 7 wickets in their opener against last year’s finalists Coastal Riders at the Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vizag.

Coastal Riders set a target of 150, having scored 149/7 in their allocated 20 overs. Captain Shaik Rasheed’s unbeaten knock of 87 helped them get past the 125-run mark, as the rest of the team looked brittle. For Rayalaseema Kings, Satyanarayana Raju and Bodhala Vinay Kumar picked up 2 wickets each while Shaik Mohhamad Rafi, Anjaneyulu and Shaik Kamaruddin each picked up 1 wicket.

Coming out to bat, Rayalaseema Kings looked unfazed as KH Veera Reddy and vice captain DB Prashanth Kumar both gave them a solid start. Roshan Kumar’s 47 off 24 ensured the momentum carried on despite the openers getting out for 23 and 38 respectively. T Vamsi Krishna and TV Sai Sravan eventually ensured the inevitable win, with 5 overs to spare.

Speaking about the win, captain Girinath Reddy stated,” We are delighted to start off with a win. Our strategy was to make sure we restrict Coastal to below 150, and our bowlers executed that perfectly. Roshan’s knock was the icing on the cake for us.”

Vinay’s spell of 2-0-13-2 saw him be crowned as the APL Game Changer while Roshan Kumar’s 47 from 24 helped him stake his claim as the R.V.V.R Super Striker.

Rayalaseema Kings next play the Vizag Warriors on 2nd June from 2:00 PM IST at the same venue.