Ajay Kumar Verma
CRICKET
Nalgonda Knights cruises past Palamuru Strikers to move second in TG20
After the five-wicket defeat to Ranga Reddy Risers in its season-opener, Rahul Buddhi had stressed the need for collective contributions if Nalgonda Knights was to make an impact in the inaugural TG20.
On Monday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Rahul backed up those words with a captain’s knock as Knights cruised to a commanding six-wicket victory over Palamuru Strikers. After Md. Arfaz Ahmed and Nishanth Saranu spearheaded an impressive bowling effort to restrict Strikers to 148 for nine, Rahul’s unbeaten half-century guided the chase home with 28 balls to spare.
Palamuru stumbled early, losing three wickets in the PowerPlay for just 30 runs. Skipper Pragnay Reddy then steadied the innings with a 37-run stand alongside Chaitanya Reddy before adding 74 with Rathan Teja.
The pair rotated the strike smartly, found the boundary regularly and reached their fifties in 32 balls, taking the Strikers past 100 and setting the platform for a strong finish.
But once the duo departed, the innings lost momentum. Arfaz added a personal milestone by dismissing his elder brother, Md. Afreedi Ahmed, as Knights closed out the innings strongly.
Debutant Jashwanth Mote and Gaurav Reddy then gave Knights a brisk start before Rishab Baslas struck in successive overs. Rahul then took charge, sharing a crucial 48-run partnership with P. Nitish Reddy to put the chase beyond Strikers’ reach.
He brought up his fifty with a six off just 30 balls before hitting the winning run to lift Knights to second place. Strikers, meanwhile, remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
Brief Scores:
Palamuru Strikers 148/9 in 20 overs (Pragnay Reddy 55, Rathan Teja 50, Md. Arfaz Ahmed 3/39) lost to Nalgonda Knights 149/4 in 15.2 overs (Rahul Buddhi 68 n.o.).
– Anirudh Velamuri
SQUASH
Om Semwal edges out Hugo Jaen in HCL Squash PSA Challenger – Mumbai
India’s Om Semwal edged out Spain’s Hugo Jaen 15-13, 8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9 in 69 minutes in the men’s opening round of the HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour-Mumbai at the Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana Club on Monday.
First round results:
Men: Salah Eltorgman (Can) bt Yusuf Thani (Brn) 15-13, 11-4, 12-10; Md Syafiq Kamal (Mas) bt Ammar Altamimi (Kuw) 11-7, 11-3, 11-6; Ziad Ibrahim (Egy) bt Bryan Tze Kang Lim (Mas) 11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6; Brendan MacDonald (Aus) bt Diwakar Singh 11-4, 11-4, 11-6; Rahul Baitha bt Ravindu Laksiri (SL) 11-7, 11-2, 5-1 (retd); Aryaveer Dewan bt Islam Kouritam (Egy) 15-13, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4; Ayaan Vaziralli bt Hridhaan Shah 11-6, 11-7, 11-3.
Women: Shameena Riaz bt Mahak Talati 11-1, 11-6, 11-3; Bo Ram Ryoo (Kor) bt Janet Vidhi 11-4, 11-4, 11-8; Rathika Seelan bt Yashi Jain 11-4, 11-7, 11-5; Sanya Vats bt Vyomika Khandelwal 11-7, 11-6, 11-6; Anika Dubey bt Aaradhana Kasturiraj 11-4, 11-2, 11-3; Unnati Tripathi bt Mona Tamer (Egy) 11-9, 11-8, 11-9; Nirupama Dubey bt Eesha Shrivastava 4-11, 11-7, 11-9, 13-12.
– Team Sportstar
Published on Jun 29, 2026
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