Andhra Pradesh beat Odisha by seven runs in their hard-fought third and last Super-Eight match of the 5th Nagesh Trophy National T20 Cricket Tournament for the Blind at AYR Cricket Ground in Hyderabad today.

With this win Andhra Pradesh became Group-A toppers, while Odisha finished second. In the semifinals tomorrow, Odisha will take on Group-B toppers Karnataka while Andhra Pradesh will face Group-B runners-up Gujarat.

Put into bat by Odisha skipper Sukhram Majhi, Andhra Pradesh rode on a century by D Venkateswara Rao (102) and a half-century by captain T Durga Rao (54) to muster a strong total of 202 for three in the stipulated 20 overs.

Chasing a target of 203, Odisha gave the opposition a good run for their money before being restricted to 195 for nine in 20 overs. Captain Sukhram Majhi waged a lone battle for Odisha, hitting an unbeaten 95. He faced 58 balls and hit 14 boundaries.

Poor running between the wickets cost Odisha dear as seven batters got run out. D Venkateswara Rao pocketed the man of the match award for his sparkling century.

BRIEF SCORE: Andhra Pradesh 202/4 in 20 overs (D Venkateswara Rao 102, T Durga Rao 54; Debaraj Behera 1/39) beat Odisha 195/9 in 20 overs (Sukhram Majhi 95*, Lalprasad Soren 21; A Ravi 1/2) by 7 runs. MoM: D Venkateswara Rao.
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PHOTO: Odisha captain Sukhram Majhi poses after hitting an unbeaten 95 against Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad on 15 March 2023.