Telangana Gold Cup Grand Finale today

Hyderabad: The Telangana Cricket Association (TCA) will add a vibrant chapter to its legacy at the Lal Bahadur Stadium here on Saturday. It will mark a new high for them following the successful conduct of the Telangana Gold Cup, the finals of which will commence at 2pm.

Battling it out for eventual honours will be Sangareddy Superstars and Maheswaram Challengers. The former made it to the summit clash with a comprehensive three-wicket win over Adilabad Arrows in the semifinal while the Challengers registered a decisive eight-wicket win over Indur Icons in the other semifinal showdown.

It will be a Red-Letter day in the annals of TCA as the tournament was a huge success given the turnout of players from every district of the State even during the selection trials that were conducted by the franchises, which participated in the Telangana Gold Cup cricket tournament.

According to the Association General Secretary Dharam Guruva Reddy, what came as a morale-booster for them was that the players could get viable platforms to parade their talent and earn plaudits for their performances. He reiterated that this was the stated mission of TCA-churning out talent from the interiors which the elitist-minded Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) never bothered to do.

Incidentally, the Association was formed with the purpose of ensuring that players of calibre from the rural areas would get avenues to make a mark and dream of realizing a cricketing future. The Association has been in the forefront of conducting league matches in almost every district.

They remain hopeful that their ‘fruitful’ interactions with administrators from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would help them get the Board’s affiliation, sooner than later.

The prize distribution ceremony will be graced by high-profile political leaders like former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, Etala Rajender, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, DK Aruna and Yendala Laxmi Narayana.

Brief scores: Semifinals: Adilabad Arrows 149 for eight wickets (Praveen Reddy 29, Charan Teja Nadella 27, Vamshi 24; Vasudeva Reddy 2/14 , Saher Pasha 2/24) lost to Sangareddy Superstars 155 for seven overs (Nikhil Netaji Reddy 37no, Dhanush 33, M Mahender Reddy 21; Syed Kaleem 4/25, Shaik Ameer 2/27); Indur Icons 103 (Illyas 39, Mubasir Md 24; Viswanath 2/17, Ashrith Reddy 2/17, Jittu 2/17) lost to Maheshwaram Challengers 108 for two wickets in 10.3 overs (Syed Chand Pasha 38no, M Pratyudh Kumar 28, Ajay Patwari 23; Aijaz 2/27).