After the high of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where they reached the semifinals, Hyderabad are sinking in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. On Friday, they crashed to their second loss in as many games as Vidharbha scored an 89-run win in Rajkot.
Replying to Vidarbha’s 365 for five, Hyderabad could reach 276. Facing a huge chase, Hyderabad needed a solid start, but they were not able to do it. Several of the batters got good starts but failed to make it count. None of them, barring A Varun Goud, stayed long enough to turn the game into a contest. In the end, it proved to be a rather one-sided match.
Much was expected of senior pro Tanmay Agarwal (21) but the left-handed batter failed to build on his start and fell with Hyderabad on 39. Abhirath Reddy and Skipper Rahul Singh added 43 for the second wicket before the former departed for a 44-ball 43 with eight fours.
Buddhi Rahul (12) and Rahul Singh (37) fell in quick succession to leave Hyderabad in a delicate situation at 117 for four. Pragnay Reddy and Varun Goud took the score to 163 before Pragnay was sent back for 25.
Varun and G Aniketh Reddy kept the side afloat with a 67-run partnership off 58 balls but once Aniketh was out for 24. The task was too tall for Varun, who fell after making a 68-ball 85 with four fours and an equal number over the fence.
Put into bat, Vidarbha openers made merry against a toothless Hyderabad attack. Aman Mokhade and Yash Rathod added 148 for the first wicket to give their side a solid foundation. Nitin Sai Yadav got the much-needed breakthrough when he had Aman caught by Varun Goud. By then the opener had scored a 78-ball 82 with three sixes and seven fours.
Kartikeya Kak, who was Hyderabad’s most successful bowler, bowled Yash for 68. The batter had faced 82 balls and struck six fours.
If Hyderabad were looking to make further inroads, they were in for a disappointment. Dhruv Shorey and Ravikumar Samarth added 140 for the third wicket. Shorey’s contribution was 77 off 49 balls and Samarth made 63 off 46 balls.
Kak struck again to remove Samarth by having him caught by skipper Rahul Singh for 63 (46 balls; 6×4, 1×6). He then got rid of skipper Harsh Dubey (14). But Shorey, who remained unbeaten on 109 off 77 balls with nine fours and six sixes, took Vidarbha to 365 for five.
Brief scores: Vidarbha 365/5 in 50 overs (Aman Mokhade 82, Yash Rathod 68, Dhruv Shorey 109, Ravikumar Samarth 63; Kartikeya Kak 3/87) vs Hyderabad 276 in 49.2 overs (Abhirath Reddy 43, Rahul Singh 37, A Varun Goud 85; Bhute 2/54, Harsh Dubey 3/39).
