Hyderabad, June 30 (IANS) EIPL & Eleve Karimnagar Diamonds continued their rise to the top with an exceptional 133-run victory over Medak Falcons during the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s TG20 at the GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday. With a second win in as many games, they are now fourth on the points table.

Rahul Radesh was excellent with the bat, scoring 101 off 48 balls, including eight fours and eight sixes, while Chandan Sahani (56* off 36) also chipped in to power the Diamonds to 232/4. Ashish Srivastav (2/13) and Shubham Sharma (2/16) led the charge with the ball as they bundled out the Falcons for 99 in 19.1 overs in what is the lowest total in the tournament to date.

Diamonds got off to a steady start with Satwik Reddy and Tanmay Agarwal (11 off 9) laying the platform for their side. The former led the charge as they scored 21 runs off the third over, rollicking along at 40/0. Kartikeya Kak provided the breakthrough for the Falcons, dismissing the Diamonds’ captain in the fourth over.

That wrestled back momentum for the bowling side as Sai Varun Yerram also got rid of Sai Sharan (11 off 10), with Falcons conceding only 14 runs in the latter half of the powerplay. Skipper Ravi Teja bagged the prized scalp of Satwik Reddy, who scored 35 off 18, including 4 fours and a couple of maximums – in the seventh over, putting the batting side in a spot of bother at 58/3.

Rahul Radesh and Chandan Sahani bided their time by knocking the ball around and rotating strike to rebuild in the middle overs. The two found some rhythm as they began to accelerate in the 13th over, adding some impetus to the innings.

The pivotal moment of the match came in the 15th over, when Rahul took Ahwinan Ram to the cleaners. He smashed four sixes as he marauded his way to a 30-ball fifty. Chandan also made his presence felt, as they scored 35 runs off the over, making it the most expensive over of the tournament so far.

The pair continued to put the Falcons bowlers under the pump as they found boundaries at will. Rahul blazed his way to a sensational century (the fifth of Sreenidhi University TG20) in 46 balls. Chandan also notched up his half-century in 30 balls, as the two batters swung the pendulum in their side’s favour. They combined for the highest partnership of the tournament, scoring 163 runs off 76 balls.

Madhukar Manne eventually got the better of Rahul in the final over, but the damage had been done by then. The colossal partnership provided a strong finish for the Diamonds as they scored 135 runs in the last eight overs, posting a total of 232/4.

Chasing a daunting target, the Falcons had the worst possible start as Ishan Sharma (0 off 5) fell to Harish Thakur in the first over of the chase. Vikram Naik (10 off 7) and Adithya Varma (12 off 12) also fell to Akhil Kumar and Shubham Sharma, respectively, as the batting side found themselves reeling at 37/3 in the powerplay.

Falcons never managed to recover from the early setback as they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Sai Varun (9 off 13) and Surya (1 off 3) fell in successive overs to Satish Kumar and Narayana Teja, respectively, as the Falcons sank further into trouble. Ashish Srivastav trapped Ahwinan in the 11th over, as the team stumbled to 63/6.

Skipper Ravi Teja managed to muster 37 off 28 balls before he, too, succumbed to Satwik, triggering a flurry of wickets. Ashish bagged his second wicket as he got the better of Bunny Jagam (3 off 11). The innings unravelled quickly thereafter as Arjun Gorrapalli (3 off 5) was run out and Shubham Sharma cleaned up Kartikeya to complete the rout.

Brief scores:

EIPL & Eleve Karimnagar Diamonds 232/4 in 20 overs (Rahul Radesh 101, Chandan Sahani 56*, Madhukar Manne 1/33, Sai Varun Yerram 1/34) beat Medak Falcons 99 in 19.1 overs (Ravi Teja 37, Ashish Srivastav 2/13, Shubham Sharma 2/16) by 133 runs.

–IANS

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