Nitish Kumar Reddy produced a three-ball burst most bowlers dream of, yet Andhra still slipped to a four-wicket defeat against Madhya Pradesh in their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Super League opener in Indore.
Sent in on a chilly December morning, Andhra never really found a tempo. They were 7 for 2 inside six deliveries after right-arm seamer Tripuresh Singh removed both Ashwin Hebbar and Shaik Rasheed for nought. Reddy and KS Bharat did restore a touch of calm, putting on 50 for the third wicket, but once Venkatesh Iyer’s return catch accounted for Bharat on 39 the innings folded. The last eight wickets added only 55 runs.
Shivam Shukla’s skiddy medium-pace proved awkward on a tacky surface. He finished with 4 for 23, Tripuresh backed him up with 3 for 31 and Rahul Batham chipped in with two late strikes. Four Andhra batters, including both openers, left without troubling the scorers. All out 112 in the 19th over felt light, even before the new-ball drama that followed.
Reddy then stormed in with the new ball and knocked over Parth Sahani, Himanshu Mantri and Shubham Sharma in successive deliveries. MP 14 for 3 after 3 overs, suddenly a ground alive. When Iyer holed out soon after, 37 for 4 looked genuinely messy.
MP, though, own a calm middle order. Rishabh Chouhan (47 off 43) and Batham (an unflustered 35* off 32) pieced together 73 for the fifth wicket, working singles, punishing anything a touch full. No risks, no panic. By the time Chouhan dragged on, only 3-a-ball were needed. Batham and Shukla completed the chase with 15 deliveries unused, collecting four points that may prove handy later in the week.
Both sides are back on Thursday: Andhra meet Punjab, and MP tackle Jharkhand. Reddy can take some comfort – hat-tricks at this level aren’t common – but his team will know 112 seldom wins T20 matches, even with early wickets in the bank.
