Published: June 11, 2026 at 10:45 pm
A fighting half-century by SDNV Prasad and his scintillating partnership with KV Sasikanth not only pulled Capital Amaravati Royals out of the woods but also helped them post a 15-run win over Simhadri Vizag Lions in the GMR Andhra Premier League (APL) at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Thursday afternoon.
Put into bat by Simhadri Vizag Lions skipper Ricky Bhui, Capital Amaravati Royals made a poor start with openers Y Sandeep (13) and Karan Shinde (0) back into the hut with just 17 on the board in the fourth over.
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To make matters worse for the Royals, they lost two quick wickets in the form of SV Rahul (8) and P Avinash (8) to be reduced to 35 for four. With almost half the side back in the dugout, it looked curtains for Amaravati Royals.
Prasad to Royals’ rescue
However, T Varun Satwik and Prasad had other ideas. They steadily rebuilt the innings with a 47-run partnership off 38 balls. The going was slow but more importantly, they had got the momentum back into the innings. Satwik fell for a 19-ball 26 with two sixes but Prasad kept going with the help of the others.
Prasad and B Ayyappa (15) then added 21 for the sixth wicket as Amaravati Royals crossed the 100-run mark. The arrival of Sasikanth to the crease proved the best thing to happen for Amaravati Royals as Sasikanth and Prasad went after the rival bowling.
They added 64 off just 25 balls to help Amaravati Royals take wings. Sasikanth fell after making a 14-ball 32 with a boundary and four mighty sixes.
Amaravati Royals reached a competitive 181 for nine off their 20 overs with Prasad, who took 38 balls to reach his half-century, remaining unconquered on 54 off 45 balls with two fours and four sixes.
Ch Dilli Ganesh, P Girinath Reddy and K Pramod Kumar took two wickets apiece.
Toshith derails Lions’ innings
In reply, Simhadri Vizag Lions were all at sea against Capital Amarvati Royals’ attack. Right arm fast bowler M Toshith Yadav was again at his best as he tormented the Lions’ top order batters.
Lions lost Haneesh Veera Reddy (1), K Maheep Kumar (0), N Himakar (18), and Ricky Bhui (10) and VMVS Rakshanan (21) with just 52 on the board in 5.2 overs.
Toshith claimed three of the five wickets with Yeshwanth and Ayyappa taking the other two wickets.
At this stage the game was almost done and dusted but M Dhunush and T Vijay did not throw in the towel. They fought bravely and added 67 to the total off 50 balls but once Dhunush fell to Sasikanth after making 33 (27b; 5×4), things fell apart for the Lions.
T Vijay was run out by SDNV Prasad after making 40 off 31 balls with three fours and a six. Simhadri Vizag Lions ended up with 166 for nine in their 20 overs to crash to their second consecutive loss.
Toshith Yadav finished with figures of three for 26, while B Ayyappa took two for 39 and KV Sasikanth got two for 29.
SDNV Prasad, who batted brilliantly in the match, received the Player of the Match award.
Brief scores: Capital Amaravati Royals 181 for nine in 20 overs (T Varun Satwik 26, SDNV Prasad 54 not out, KV Sasikanth 32; Ch Dilli Ganesh 2/47, P Girinath Reddy 2/16, K Pramod Kumar 2/48) beat Simhadri Vizag Lions 166 for nine in 20 overs (M Dhunush 33, T Vijay 40; M Toshith Yadav 3/26, B Ayyappa 2/39, KV Sasikanth 2/29).
