Teja’s unbeaten 76 trumps Abhishek’s 112 no as Rayalaseema down Kakinada by 4 wickets

GSP Teja’s unbeaten half-century trumped M Abhishek Reddy’s unbeaten century as Royals of Rayalaseema scored a four-wicket win over Kakinada Kings in the Andhra Premier League 2026 at the YS Raja Reddy ACA Cricket Stadium in Kadapa on Thursday evening.

Batting first after winning the toss, Kakinada Kings made a brisk start with openers M Abhishek Reddy and P Arjun Tendulkar going after the Royals of Rayalaseema bowlers. The duo added 58 off 29 balls with Abhishek doing the bulk of the scoring. Arjun Tendulkar was caught by Teja Reddy off SP Ganesh for 17.

Abhishek hogs limelight with a century

Abhishek Reddy and P Tapaswi then added 34 off 24 balls with Tapaswi getting a 25-ball 24 (3×4, 1×6) before he was caught by GSP Teja off G Pardhasaradhi.

Royals of Rayalaseema struck back with a vengeance as they got rid of M Yuvan (5) caught by Vasu of Pardhasaradhi and skipper G Manish (3) run out by Dhruva.

Kakinada Kings opener M Abhishek Reddy celebrates his century against Royals of Rayalaseema

However, M Lekaz Reddy and Abhishek Reddy took charge of the proceedings. The duo added 76 off 33 balls to the total as Kakinada Kings reached 181 before Lekaz Reddy was bowled by Ganesh after making a 17-ball 37 with two four and three sixes.

Abhishek Reddy and G Samanvith (7) then shared an unbroken 30-run partnership for the sixth wicket as Kakinada Kings ran up 211 for five in 20 overs.

Abhishek Reddy remained unbeaten on 112 off 60 balls with 10 fours and five sixes. Abhishek got his half-century off 35 balls with four boundaries and a six. The next 50 was much quicker as his 100 came off 56 balls and was studded with nine fours and four sixes.

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SP Ganesh took two for 42 and G Pardhasaradhi bagged two for 35.

Teja carries Royals of Rayalaseema home

In reply, Royals of Rayalaseema were rocked early on as they lost M Vamsi Krishna (11) with the score 22. He was caught by Giri Vara Prasad of Sai Teja.

S Dhruva Kumar Reddy and Ch Sandeep then added 30 off 16 balls to the score before both of them fell at the same score. Sai Teja had Dhruva Kumar Reddy (14) caught by Manish and Ashish had Ch Sandeep (26) caught by Samanvith.

At 52 for three, things were not looking good for Royals of Rayalaseema but GSP Teja and Y Teja Reddy added a 50-ball 72 to bring their side back into contention. Ashish struck again as he had Teja Reddy caught by substitute Baswanth after the batter had made 41 off 27 balls with a four and three sixes.

But Teja and new man Y Vasu defied the Kakinada Kings attack by adding a match-winning 81 for the fifth wicket before Vasu was caught by Samanvith off Ashish for a 14-ball 42 with contained two fours and five sixes.

Though Royals of Rayalaseema lost A Sai Surya Teja (0), G Manvith Kumar (0 not out) stayed with GSP Teja, who completed the formalities.

Royals of Rayalaseema made 213 for six in 18.3 overs with Teja remaining unbeaten on76 off 43 balls with six fours. He was named the Player of the Match.

GSP Teja was named Player of the match

S Ashish took four for 30, but his effort went in vain. K Sai Teja bagged two for 27.

Brief scores: Kakinada Kings 211 for 5 In 20 overs (Abhishek M Reddy 112 not out, M Lekhaz Reddy 37, P Tapaswi 24; SP Ganesh 2/42, G Pardhasaradhi 2/35) lost to Royals of Rayalaseema 213 for 6 in 18.3 overs (Ch Sandeep 26, GSP Teja 76 not out, Y Teja Reddy 41, Y Vasu 42; K Sai Teja 2/27, S Ashish 4/30).