Reddy takes hat-trick but fails to get the victory for Andhra as MP were able to overhaul the meagre 112-run target.
Madhya Pradesh (MP) was reduced to 14 for 3 in three overs during their 113 chase by Andhra thanks to a hat-trick from Nitish Kumar Reddy. However, it was unable to keep Andhra from losing.
Shortly after Reddy’s hat-trick, Venkatesh Iyer also fell in the seventh over, leaving MP at 37 for 4.
However, MP prevailed with four wickets and 15 balls remaining thanks to a 73-run fifth-wicket partnership between Rishabh Chouhan and Rahul Batham.
MP started the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Super League with four points as a result.
After the top-order collapse, Chouhan and Batham batted calmly. Batham finished undefeated on 35 in 32 deliveries, while Chouhan struck 47 in 43 balls with six fours.
Earlier, after Andhra lost the toss and were themselves 7 for 2, Reddy added 50 for the third wicket with KS Bharat. Ashwin Hebbar and Shaik Rasheed were removed for ducks by right-arm seamer Tripuresh Singh in the first over for MP. When Iyer caught Bharat and bowled him for 39, he broke the stand between Reddy and Bharat, which resulted to a collapse. Shivam Shukla took 4 for 23, including Reddy for 23, and Tripuresh took 3 for 31 as Andhra lost 8 for 55 to be bowled out for 112.
Four Andhra batsman were removed without scoring, and Batham also claimed two wickets.
On December 14, Andhra will play Punjab while MP will play Jharkhand.