Reddy's hat-trick goes in vain as Andhra lose to MP; Haryana cruise past Rajasthan in SMAT

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], December 12 (ANI): Nitish Kumar Reddy claimed a hat-trick for Andhra, leaving Madhya Pradesh (MP) struggling at 14 for three within three overs while chasing 113. However, his effort couldn't prevent Andhra's defeat, as MP won the match by four wickets at the DY Patil Academy in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Soon after the hat-trick, MP slipped further to 37 for 4 in the seventh over with Venkatesh Iyer's dismissal. But a steady 73-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Rishabh Chouhan and Rahul Batham stabilised the chase, guiding MP to victory with four wickets in hand and 15 balls remaining.
With the win, MP collected four points to open their Super League campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
After the early batting collapse, Chouhan and Batham steadied the chase with patience. Chouhan made 47 off 43 balls, hitting six fours, while Batham remained unbeaten on 35 from 32 deliveries.
Earlier, Andhra had their own troubles after being sent in to bat. They slipped to 7 for 2 before Reddy and KS Bharat added 50 for the third wicket. MP's Tripuresh Singh struck twice in the first over, dismissing Ashwin Hebbar and Shaik Rasheed for ducks. Iyer then broke the partnership by removing Bharat for 39, triggering a collapse. Andhra lost 8 for 55 and were bowled out for 112, with Shivam Shukla taking 4 for 23--among them Reddy for 23--and Tripuresh finishing with 3 for 31.
Batham also contributed with the ball, picking up two wickets as four Andhra batters fell for zero.
Next, Andhra will meet Punjab, while MP take on Jharkhand on December 14.
In the match between Haryana and Rajasthan at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium in Pune, Haryana opted to field first and the new-ball pair of Ishant Bhardwaj and Anshul Kamboj quickly put Rajasthan on the back foot, leaving them at 29 for four inside six overs. Mahipal Lomror and Shubham Garhwal steadied the innings for a while and Rahul Chahar added some useful runs at the end, but the final total of 132 was never likely to be enough.
Haryana chased it down comfortably, winning by seven wickets with 22 balls remaining. Captain Ankit Kumar anchored the chase with a 60 off 41 balls, while opener Arsh Ranga provided early momentum by blasting 27 off just 12 deliveries--24 of those runs coming in boundaries. After Ranga's quickfire start, Ankit and Yashvardhan Dalal put on a 52-run stand for the second wicket.
Ankit was dismissed just before taking the team over finish line, falling to Chahar in the 16th over. Chahar's spell of 1 for 17 from four overs was Rajasthan's most economical, as every other bowler conceded at least nine an over.
This victory marked Haryana's fifth straight win in the tournament. (ANI)