Hyderabad, July 7 (IANS) Skipper Tanmay Agarwal led the way with a sensational century to guide EIPL & eleve Karimnagar Diamonds into the playoffs with a commanding 73-run victory over Palamuru Strikers in the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s TG20’s first match in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Tanmay scored his second ton of the tournament, registering a brilliant 109 off 58 balls to help Diamonds post 216/5 with support from Satwik Reddy (32 off 22) and Narayana Teja (23* off 8). Shubham Sharma (3/16) and Rathlavath Dinesh (3/27) starred in the bowling department to help Diamonds secure their playoff spot.

With this result, three teams for the TG20 playoffs have been confirmed. Ranga Reddy Risers, who are scheduled to play against Warangal Warriors in the second game of the day, will need a miracle to leapfrog Anurag Nalgonda Knights, who are currently in fourth place.

The fourth-placed team at the end of the final league stage game will face Diamonds in the Eliminator on Thursday at 2:15 PM. Meanwhile, Hyderabad E-Champions and Anvita Khammam Aces will compete in Qualifier 1 on the same day at 7:15 PM.

Put in to bat first, openers Tanmay Agarwal and Satwik Reddy (32 off 22) gave Diamonds a steady start, laying the platform in the powerplay. They were watchful in the first three overs before Satwik broke the shackles with five consecutive boundaries, scoring 20 runs off the fourth over. His skipper also contributed by finding the boundary consistently as the two notched 66 runs in the Power-play.

Strikers pulled things back slightly after the field restrictions were lifted, conceding only 10 runs off the next two overs. They made that pressure count, with Ashwad Rajiv getting the better of Satwik and breaking the 77-run opening stand.

Chandan Sahani (16 off 14) combined for a 24-ball 44-run partnership with Tanmay in the middle overs. They scored 25 off Nipun Reddy in the 12th over to ensure that they keep scoring at a healthy rate. The Diamonds’ captain did most of the damage in that over, scoring 20 runs as he amassed his half-century in 36 balls.

Ashwad bagged his second wicket against the run of play as Chandan holed out to him in the following over. Despite the setback, Tanmay was rollicking along, displaying an array of strokes to punish the Strikers’ bowlers as he registered his second ton of the season. He got to the landmark in 55 balls, with his splendid knock including eleven fours and six sixes.

Trying to force the issue in the death overs, Tanmay eventually succumbed to Rishab Baslas in the 17th over. Strikers kept chipping away towards the backend of the innings with Afreedi Ahmed and Nishanth Sen Reddy dismissing Hrishikesh Sharma (15 off 11) and Rahul Radesh (10 off 7) respectively.

Even though Diamonds lost wickets in a cluster, they managed a strong finish courtesy of Narayana Teja’s cameo. Sixteen of those runs came in the final three balls of the innings, helping his side post 216/5.

In the run chase, Manikanteshwar Reddy (19 off 11) and Vignesh Reddy laid down a marker of intent early, scoring 28 runs off the first couple of overs. Shubham Sharma put a halt to the momentum as he dismissed Vignesh (9 off 9) in the third over. Rathlavath Dinesh outfoxed Manikanteshwar in the following over, triggering a collapse for the Strikers.

Rohit Rayudu (5 off 6) also fell to Harish Thakur in the powerplay to have the Diamonds reeling at 39/3 at the end of six overs. The procession continued as Narayana bagged the wicket of Afreedi Ahmed, while Ashish Srivastav scalped Pragnay Reddy (4 off 5) to sink the Strikers deeper into trouble at 46/5. In that pivotal phase of play, the batting side lost five wickets for 18 runs.

Samhith Reddy and Shadab Ahmed stabilised the innings by building a 52-run stand, with both batters showing impressive temperament in a tricky situation. The rain also temporarily provided some respite for the batting side after the halfway mark, with the score at 76/5.

After the resumption, Shubham Sharma bagged a couple of wickets. He initially trapped Shadab lbw in the fourteenth over before plucking a superb caught and bowled to dismiss Nishanth Sen in the sixteenth over. Dinesh then got the better of Rishab Bislas and Nipun Reddy to all but seal the deal.

Samhith was the only positive for the Strikers at the end of the contest, as he registered his half-century in 39 balls. He scored an unbeaten 67 off 46 balls to drag his side to 143/9.

Brief scores:

EIPL & eleve Karimnagar Diamonds 216/5 in 20 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 109, Satwik Reddy 32, Ashwad Rajiv 2/23) bt Palamuru Strikers 143/9 in 20 overs (Samhith Reddy 67*, Shadab Ahmed 24; Rathlavath Dinesh 3/27, Shubham Sharma 3/16, TVS Narayana Teja 1/16) by 73 runs.

–IANS

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