The extravagant Andhra Premier League (APL) Season 2 concluded on Sunday, 27 August 2023, in Vizag, with Rayalaseema Kings emerging as the champions in the final match. After battling it out for 11 days and 15 league-stage matches, the Uttarandhara Lions, Godavari Titans, Rayalaseema Kings, and Coastal Riders reached the knockout stages. The Coastal Riders, who took home the trophy in the inaugural season, are the runners-up in the second edition of APL.
Winning the toss, the Kings opted to bowl first in the 18-over match. While one of the Coastal Riders’ openers, Dharani Kumar, started the proceedings decently with 30 off 24 deliveries, his partner Manyala Prantih fell cheaply to Harishankar Reddy, scoring 10 runs off 8 balls. Two-down batsman Maddila Vardhan scored a crucial half-century in 32 deliveries before Jagarlapudi Ram claimed his wicket.
At the end of the first innings, the Riders put up 155 runs on the board. Harishankar Reddy, with two wickets, and Shaik Kamaruddi, with three wickets, aided the Kings in restricting the score to a chasable total in the final. Nevertheless, the second innings commenced on a tragic note for the chasing team as opener Haneesh Reddy was trapped on his first ball by Stephen.
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Skipper Hanuma Vihari (46 not out), Bodhala Vinay (53 off 23), and Thota Sravan (24 off 18) were the saviours for the Rayalseema Kings, who went on to lift the trophy. Vinay was adjudged the Man of the Match for his match-saving half-century. Rayalaseema player SK Karimuddin, with 13 wickets, and Godavari Titans batsman Hemanth Reddy, with 240 runs, bagged the Purple and Orange caps, respectively.
Season 2 of the Andhra Premier League (APL) was well-received by the cricket fanatics in Vizag right from the first match to the final. All the fixtures were conducted at the Dr YSR ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium with free entry for the public.
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