Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy failed to make any significant impact in the recent home series against South Africa, but he managed to impress everyone in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. However, Nitish Kumar Reddy’s efforts could not save Andhra from facing a crushing defeat.
Reddy’s brilliant hat-trick gave Andhra a ray of hope but Madhya Pradesh staged a spectacular comeback chasing 113 and won by four wickets in their opening Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 Super League match at the DY Patil Academy on Friday (December 12).
Nitish Kumar Reddy took a brilliant hat-trick against Madhya Pradesh
Andhra had set a modest target of 112 runs, so they needed early successes to put Madhya Pradesh under pressure and Reddy did brilliantly. In the last three balls of his third over, the seam-bowling all-rounder demolished the MP top-order.
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Reddy first bowled Harsh Gawli, then got Harpreet Bhatia caught behind and finally dismissed Rajat Patidar when the RCB skipper accidentally hit the ball on his stumps. His hat-trick took Madhya Pradesh to a worrying position of 14 runs for 3 wickets in just three overs.
𝗛𝗔𝗧-𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧
Nitish Kumar Reddy’s brilliant hat-trick moment as he completes a brilliant hat-trick against Madhya Pradesh in the Super League stage in Pune.#SMAT , @IDFCFIRSTBANK , @NKReddy07 pic.twitter.com/3iv0wo1kFI
– BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) 12 December 2025
Andhra misses opening opportunity with Madhya Pradesh’s easy win in Super League
Things got worse for Madhya Pradesh when Venkatesh Iyer was out, leaving the team struggling at 37 for 4, giving Andhra a strong chance to take control of the Super League match. However, despite a dream start, Andhra could not maintain the momentum.
Rishabh Chauhan and Rahul Botham took command of MP’s chase with a calm and steady partnership of 73 runs for the fifth wicket against Andhra. Chauhan played a brilliant inning of 47 runs off 43 balls, while Batham chased the target by scoring 35 not out off 32 balls.
Efforts from Chauhan and Batham ensured that Madhya Pradesh chased the target safely and won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 Super League match by four wickets with 15 balls to spare. With this win MP earned an important four points in the tournament.
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Andhra was reduced to 112 runs as Nitish Kumar Reddy’s resistance went in vain.
Earlier in the game, Nitish Kumar Reddy had also contributed with the bat for Andhra. After Andhra’s score was 7 for 2, he added 50 runs for the third wicket with wicketkeeper-batsman KS Bharat. Bharat was the top scorer with 39 runs before being dismissed by Venkatesh Iyer.
Bharat’s dismissal led to Andhra’s collapse and Andhra lost eight wickets for just 55 runs and were eventually bowled out for 112 runs in 19.1 overs. At DY Patil Academy, Madhya Pradesh bowlers bowled brilliantly and dismissed four batsmen of Andhra without opening the account.
Shivam Shukla led the attack with 4 wickets for 23 runs, while Tripuresh Singh took 3 wickets for 31 runs. Batham also took 2 wickets against Andhra.
Looking ahead, Andhra will take on Punjab in their next Super League match. Madhya Pradesh, on the other hand, are aiming to continue their strong start in the tournament when they face Jharkhand on December 14.