Bhadrak, Odisha, Mar 7 : Nexage Hyderabad got off to a fantastic start in the Tillo Cup 2026 on Saturday, March 7 at the Hanuman Jew Stadium in Tillo, Bhadrak. They secured a five-wicket victory after sealing a big run chase against A&S Kolkata.

After winning the toss, Hyderabad invited Kolkata to bat first. Pacer Ayush Roy got the first breakthrough for the side in the form of Dipanshu Upadhyay (1) in the third over.
However, Uttar Pradesh batter Almas Shaukat employed a positive intent to accelerate Kolkata's scoring. He found boundaries in consistent fashion, as Abhishek Yadav played a regressive knock as a second fiddle.
The dismissals of Yadav (14) and Rishikesh Tiwari (5) curtailed the momentum and infused pressure on the side. Soon, Shaukat was also dismissed after playing a sublime knock of 56 off 37 balls, with seven fours and two sixes.
At this point, Kolkata needed a big partnership to stabilize the team's ship. Keeper Suvankar Bal unleashed his aggressive style to turn as the tormentor for the Hyderabad bowlers. He smashed an unbeaten 67 off 24 balls, with five fours and six sixes, while captain Anshuman Pandey hit 21 off 11 balls. Their contributions boosted Kolkata's score to 190. Rahul Rajpal was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets for Hyderabad.
Chasing a big score, Hyderabad needed a strong opening partnership to bring back the side's confidence. The duo of Irshad and Nishant Yadav did the needful, as they were brilliant with their strokeplay and scored boundaries at will. Their sensational batting display stunned the Kolkata bowling unit, as they had no answer to the onslaught.
Pacer Akash Sharma finally brought an end to the 125-run partnership in the 11th over after dismissing Irshad (49). Although, the wickets of Rahul Rajpal (1) and Fahim Naz (6) kept Kolkata's hopes alive, Nishant ensured he maintained his supreme form.
Mohammad Sharim (21) and Nishant stitched a 24-run stand, with the former scoring the majority of the runs. Nishant remained unbeaten on 73 off 46 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes to complete the chase with 16 balls to spare. Akash took two wickets and was the most successful bowler for Kolkata.
With a standout victory, Nexage Hyderabad are at the top position in the Group A points table with a net run rate of 1.635. They will clash with the Lightning Legends on Sunday, March 8 in pursuit of finalizing their semifinal spot.
Meanwhile, A&S Kolkata are last in the Group A points table with this loss. They will look to secure their first victory against JP Sports Noida on Sunday to keep their semifinal hopes alive.