HCA’s Combined Districts team win one game, lose another on Sri Lanka tour thus far

Hyderabad Cricket Association’s (HCA) Combined Districts team has had a mixed bag of results thus far during their tour to Sri Lanka. The team lost to Leos Cricket Club by six wickets in the first game on Monday but came back strongly to post an eight-wicket win over CMS Cricket Club in Colombo on Tuesday.

Combined Districts lose to Leos Cricket Club

In the first match at the FIZ Katunayaka ground in Colombo on Monday, Leos Cricket Club won the toss and elected to field. Combined Districts team got off to a bad start as opener Rithwik Surya fell in the first over for a duck.

Krishna Reddy and Narayana Teja then took the score to 90 before Krishna fell for 19 off 44 balls. Narayana did not last long after that. He was sent back 13 runs later for a well-made 74 which came off 57 balls.

This led to the highest partnership of the innings between G Ganesh and Md Afridi. The duo flayed the rival attack as they made run-scoring easy. The duo added 115 for the fourth wicket before Afridi was bowled by Asanka for a well-made 50.

Hyderabad Cricket Association approves Sri Lanka tour for Combined Districts team

Thereafter, the innings lost steam as Sri Lanka tightened up things. Combined Districts ended up with 265 for seven in 40 overs with G Ganesh remaining unconquered on a brilliant 110 which came off only 79 balls.

Asanka took three for 36 and Supun bagged two for 41.

The Leos Cricket Club reply too started on a disastrous note as they lost opener Andy for a duck. He was caught by Vaishnav off Sathwik in the first over itself.

However, Samitha and Asanka steadied the innings with a superb stand of 139 for the second wicket. Samitha was the dominant partner as he scored 97 off 55 balls, while Asanka made 38 off 37 balls. Asanka was caught by Azar off Krishna and his knock contained two fours and two sixes.

HCA Combined Districts team on their departure from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. E Venkatram Reddy, KUDA chairman, is also seen

Opener Samitha then found another able partner in Poorna and the duo took Leos Cricket Club towards victory. The duo added 77 for the third wicket with Poorna getting 18 of those. He was trapped leg before by Bharath Reddy.

Bharath struck a big blow by having Samitha caught by Sathwik with the score reading 220. Samitha scored 143 off 86 balls with 12 fours and nine sixes.

However, Salindu and Senash ensured a six-wicket win for Leos Club by adding 47 for the unbroken fifth wicket. Salindu made 23 not out and Senash scored an unbeaten 34. Leos reached 267 for four in 28 overs.

Bharat took two for 42, while Sathwik got one for 21 and Krishna Reddy bagged one for 14.

Combined Districts thrash CMS Cricket Club

In the second match on Tuesday, Combined Districts won the toss and invited their opponents CMS Cricket Club to bat first.

The Lankan side was unable to counter the rival attack and fell for 107 in 40 overs. G Pavan finished with an 8-1-27-4 haul to decimate the opposition.

In reply, Combined Districts reached the target in only 13.4 overs and losing two wickets in the process. Harshawardhan scored an unbeaten 30 off 34 balls and Afridi smashed a 19-ball 32.

Wednesday is a rest day, and the team will play three more games before leaving Sri Lanka. They will play on Thursday and then go for a sightseeing in Galle. On Saturday and Sunday, they will play two more games before leaving for Hyderabad.

Brief scores: HCA Combined Districts 265 for seven in 40 overs (G Ganesh 110, Narayana Teja 74, Md Afridi 50; Asanka 3/36, Supun 2/41) lost to Leos Cricket Club 267 for four in 28 overs (Samitha 143, Asanka 38, Salindu 23 not out, Senash 34 not out; Bharat Reddy 2/42).

CMS Cricket Club 107 in 40 overs (G Pavan 4/27) lost to HCA Combined Districts 108 for two in 13.4 overs (Harshawardhan 30 not out, Afridi 32).