HCA XI defeats Air India in the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup final

The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) XI clinched the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament after defeating Air India in the finals on Thursday. Continuous rains affected the tournament over the last few days including the semis but the final game was played without any interruptions at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal with the home team winning by seven wickets.

After being put into bat first, Air India had a 99-run stand for the opening wicket between Naman Ojha and Manvinder Bisla who scored a fifty each. Chama Milind got HCA XI the breakthrough by cleaning up Bisla, who scored 56 off 71 balls with seven fours. Ojha too couldn’t convert the start as he was trapped in front by Syed Medhi Hasan for an 80-ball 62 in which he struck five fours and two sixes.

Air India felt the absence of their captain Suresh Raina, as they missed his services in the middle order after a great start by the openers which went in vain. Subhodh Bhati with a 9-ball 29 and Lalit Yadav’s unbeaten 38 off 33 balls helped Air India reach 267/8 in the 50 overs.

HCA openers couldn’t put on a huge stand like in their previous games as Akshath Reddy getting out for just 17 runs. However, another in-form opener Tanmay Agarwal put on a 140-run stand for the 2nd wicket with B Sandeep. Tanmay scored at a run-a-ball pace as his 84 runs came in just 82 balls with five fours and a six.

Sandeep too departed scoring 81-ball 71 with four fours and a six when his team needed another 72 runs in 94 balls. Kolla Sumanth with 60 off 60 balls and captain Ambati Rayudu with a 38-ball 35 ensured the victory for their side with 17 balls to spare sharing an unbeaten 78-run stand for the 4th wicket.

Brief Scores:

Air India: 267/8 in 50 overs (Naman Ojha 62 (80), Manvinder Bisla 56 (71); M Ravi Kiran 2/50)

Hyderabad Cricket Association XI: 273/3 in 47.1 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 84 (82), B Sandeep 71 (81), Kolla Sumanth 60* (60); Gaurav Kumar 2/32)

HCA XI won by seven wickets