Rakshann, Varun and Nitish fashion Nalgonda Knights’ six-wicket win over Karimnagar

A disciplined bowling effort led by Rakshann Readdi and Varun Goud, followed by Nitish Reddy’s composed 52, helped Nalgonda Knights register their first win of the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s TG20.

In what was the second match of the day – one that was interrupted by rain – the Knights comfortably chased down a revised target of 117 in 17 overs to defeat Karimnagar Diamonds by six wickets.

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After a cautious start, Diamonds skipper Tanmay Agarwal shifted gears in the third over, taking 15 runs off Nishanth Saranu to inject momentum into the innings. His aggressive intent set an early tone as the Diamonds began to put pressure on the Nalgonda Knights.

Tanmay continued to dominate, combining crisp boundary-hitting with smart strike rotation alongside Sai Sharan (15 off 18 balls). The pair stitched together a valuable opening partnership, with Tanmay bringing up the 50-run stand in style with a six. However, just as the Diamonds looked set, Arfaz Ahmed provided the breakthrough, dismissing the skipper for a fluent 46 off 26 deliveries with four fours and four sixes.

Aelgani Varun Goud of Nalgonda Knights celebrates the wicket of Rahul Radesh of Karimnagar Diamonds at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, on Wednesday night. Pics: Vipin Pawar / CREIMAS

The Knights capitalised on the wicket immediately. Satwik Reddy managed just 1 off 7 balls before edging behind to hand Varun Goud his first wicket of the evening. Goud struck again in the same over, removing Sai Sharan (15 off 18 balls), who found Nitish Reddy in the field, leaving the Diamonds under pressure.

Following a rain interruption, Goud picked up where he left off, dismissing Rahul Radesh (1 off 2 balls) to claim his third wicket. Rakshann Readdi then joined the party, accounting for Chandan Sahani (1 off 3 balls) as Karimnagar slumped to 65 for 5.

With the innings in danger of unraveling, Harish Thakur (21 off 23 balls) and Shubham Sharma (20 off 16 balls) attempted to steady the ship. The duo battled through a difficult phase, but boundaries remained hard to come by. Just when the partnership began to show promise and the Diamonds crossed the 100-run mark, Readdi struck again, bowling Shubham to halt the recovery.

Rakshann demolishes Karimnagar

Readdi returned in the 18th over to add two more wickets to his tally, finishing with an impressive 4 for 20. His spell effectively sealed the Diamonds’ fate, as the innings folded on the final ball for 130, capping off a disciplined bowling performance from the Knights.

Chasing a revised target of 117 in 17 overs, the Nalgonda Knights suffered an early setback when Harish Thakur struck in the second over, dismissing Pranav Suryadevara for a quickfire 11 off just five deliveries.

Patkuri Nitish Reddy of Nalgonda Knights plays a shot against Karimnagar Diamonds

The Diamonds struck again soon after as Gaurav Reddy (4 off 8 balls) holed out to Satish Kumar, giving Rathlavath Dinesh his first wicket of the innings. At 22 for 2, the Knights needed a steady partnership to regain control of the chase.

Nitish Reddy and skipper Rahul Buddhi responded with a measured stand. The pair kept the scoreboard moving with Nitish hitting timely boundaries before Narayana Teja broke the partnership by removing Buddhi for 5 off 13 balls.

Undeterred, Nitish continued to anchor the chase with a composed knock, finding the perfect balance between caution and aggression. He found an able ally in Divesh Singh, who kept the pressure on the bowlers with an enterprising innings. The pair steadily chipped away at the target, ensuring the required rate never became a concern.

Nitish brought up a well-crafted half-century in just 33 deliveries, but his impressive innings came to an end when Ashish Srivastav dismissed him for 52 off 36 balls with six fours and two sixes. By then, however, the Knights were firmly in command of the contest.

Divesh Singh of Nalgonda Knights plays a shot against Karimnagar Diamonds

With only 16 runs needed for victory, Divesh Singh put the finishing touches on the chase. The unbeaten batter smashed a six off Shubham Sharma to seal the win with three overs to spare, finishing on 36 not out from 18 deliveries with three fours and two sixes and guiding the Knights to their first victory of the season in convincing fashion.

Brief scores: Karimnagar Diamonds 130 (Tanmay Agarwal 46, Harish Thakur 21, Shubham Sharma 20; Rakshann Readdi 4/20, Varun Goud 3/8, Arfaz Ahmed 2/29) lost to Nalgonda Knights 121-4 in 14 overs (Nitish Reddy 52, Divesh Singh 36 not out).

Player of the match: Rakshann Readdi