The 22nd The Hindu (FIC)-Essar Cricket Trophy-2019 (knockout cricket tournament) began here on Tuesday.

Organised by the Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA), the tournament was inaugurated by Deputy Chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Trust P.L. Haranadh at the Port Stadium.

Inaugurating the tournament, Mr. Haranadh said cricket was a team sport and a great leveller. Mr. D.S. Varma of Essar, Mr. S.S.R.K. Prasad, Mr. J.K.M. Raju of VDCA and others were present.

In the inaugural match at the Port Stadium, Visakhapatnam Port Sports Council (VPSC) defeated HPCL by 87 runs. Batting first, VPSC posted a total of 300 for eight wickets in 43 overs with V.V. Ramana scoring 58, and N Shyam Sundar remaining not out with 56. M. Satyanandh fell short of a half-century after being dismissed on 47.

In reply, HPCL were all out for 213 with Vivek Singh scoring 67 and B.S. Raghavendra scoring 40.

At Coromandel Ground, Solos CC defeated Visakhapatnam Steel Plant by one wicket. Batting first, VSP scored 121 in 22 overs and Solos overcame the target in the 31st over, after losing nine wickets.

For Solos, G. Siva Kumar returned a five-wicket haul after conceding 37 runs while L. Balaram took three wickets for 20 runs. For VSP, B. Bawesh Kumar took 5 wickets for 22.

At HZL Grounds, City Police won by eight wickets over Kent CC. Batting first, Kent CC scored 146, which was overcome comfortably by the City Police in the 18th over for the loss of two wickets. For City Police, M. Santosh Kumar scored an unbeaten 79 while V. Trinadh scored 46.

At ACA-VDCA B Grounds, Symond Blues won by six wickets over MF Khan CC. Batting first, MFK scored 255 for 4 in 40 overs, with S. Suvendu Kumar scoring 104, P. Santosh Prasad 50 and Ravi Shankar 43. In reply, Symonds Blues scored the required runs in 36 overs after losing four wickets. K. Ramu stood unbeaten on 124 while Ch. Sudhakar scored 80.