After 18 matches in the past 11 days, the Andhra Premier League 2022 has finally reached its culmination stage. The final of the league is set to be played today between Coastal Riders and Bezawada Tigers starting at 6:30 pm. The two teams are deserved finalists from the league as they finished in the points table at number one and number two positions respectively. The two teams have faced each other twice in the tournament with one game being washed-out while the Riders were triumphant on the other occasion by 7 runs.
The Qualifier one between the two teams got washed out and the Riders progressed ahead to the finals as they finished above Tigers in the points table. The rain gods interrupted in Qualifier two as well, as Tigers were 29/1 after four overs in the pursuit of their target of 187 set by Rayalaseema Kings. But since the game got washed out, the Tigers progressed ahead into the finals as they finished above the Kings in the group stage.
Bezawada Tigers
The Tigers will be looking to take revenge for their loss in the league stage against the Riders. Chasing the target of 181 runs for the victory, they fell short of 7 runs, Pyla Avinash was the top scorer for them who scored 35 off 25 balls in the run chase. Avinash has been the best batter for the Tigers in the tournament scoring 165 runs in six games at an average of 41.25 while A Lalith Mohan has been the most successful bowler for them as he picked seven wickets in six matches at an average of 12.57.
Probable Playing XI:
M A Praneeth, P Avinash, K Mahdeep Kumar, Jagdish Rami Reddy, Ricky Bhui, Manish Golamaru, Bandaru Ayyappa, Lalith Mohan, KP Sai Rahul, Kavuri Saiteja, Shambu Akhil
Coastal Riders
The Riders have been the best team of the tournament so far. They will be looking for a repeat of their match-winning performance against the Tigers in the group stage of the tournament. M Lekhaz Reddy has been the top-run getter from the Riders scoring 109 runs in six games with an average of 36.33. On the bowling front, C.V Stephen has been most successful picking up seven wickets in six matches at an average of 20.14.
Probable Playing XI:
Lekhaz Reddy, Sirla Srinivas, CR Gnaneshwar, Manyala Pranith, Pinninti Tapaswi, Bhupathiraju Munish Verma, Cheepurapalli Stephen, Siraparapu Ashish, Tripurana Vijay, Madha Deepak, Maddila-Harsha Vardhan
Match Details:
Bezawda Tigers vs Coastal Riders
Date – 17th July 2022
Time – 6:30 pm
Venue – Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam
Pitch Report
Teams batting second have won 8 matches on this ground as compared to teams batting first i.e 4 games. The pressure of the finals and the previous record of the tournament will both impact the captain’s decision to whether bat or ball after winning the toss.
