All Stars League begins with a bang

Hyderabad: TKR Titans opened their campaign on a scintillating note while Medak Masters got-off to a flying start in the All Stars Cricket Telangana State Premier League, which began at the Lal Bahadur Stadium here on Tuesday.

Organised by The Telangana Cricket Association (TCA), which is going all-out in its quest to promote the gentleman’s game in every nook and corner of the State, this has been specifically brought to Hyderabad.

Earlier, the tournament, which runs through till February 6, was inaugurated by State Home Minister Naini Narasimha Reddy and Finance Minister Etela Rajender, who is also TCA Chairman.

In a touching speech that reflected on the TCA evolution and growth, Rajender pointed out “there is no dearth of talent in the interiors. Many careers failed to take-off because of the absence of genuine promoters and patrons. The Telangana Cricket Association was formed even before Telangana State came into being. 

We are obsessed with providing ample platforms to rural cricketers, who have forever been dealt a step-motherly treatment by HCA.  We hope to bridge this gap as facilitators to the robust talent that prevails all over. Till now, TCA has organised 1,300 matches and taken the sport to all districts despite the odds that sprang up, every now and then. 

It is passion for the sport that drives everyone associated with TCA. It is a good augury, and a morale-booster for us that BCCI is aware of the ground-realities vis-à-vis HCA and TCA. This tournament will be a testimony of our abilities and an occasion for the youngsters to make the selectors to take notice of their inherent talent.”

According to the Association President Yendala Lakshmi Narayana and Secretary D Guruva Reddy, they hoped to give a taste of urban cricket to the players coming from the interiors as also showcase their acumen in the backyard of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) in order to serve as an eye-opener to the Association members.   

Brief scores: Palamur Pirates 140/9 in 20 overs (P Anajaneyulu 50, Madhu Mohan 20; Satish Chandra 2/14) lost to Medak Masters 141/7 in 18.5 overs (Nikhil Netaji Reddy 32; Karthik 4/35); Man of the match: Nikhil Nethaji Reddy; Nalgonda Knights 105/3 in 12 overs (Shankar 49, Yugandhra 27; Harsha 1/31) lost to TKR Titans 108/1 in 9.3 overs (Yaswanth Reddy 49 no, M Pratyush Kumar 30 no); Man of the match: Yaswanth Reddy.