After being at the receiving end for the first three days of the game, Hyderabad batters put up a spirited display to salvage a draw against Vidarbha in their Col CK Nayudu Trophy match at the NFC ground in Hyderabad on Monday.
As the nation was celebrating its 77th Republic Day, Wafi Kachchhi and M Ruthvik Yadav stonewalled Vidarbha’s efforts to win the game and take-home maximum points.
Resuming at their overnight score of 42 for one and still needing 391 to win the game or play out the day’s quota of overs for a draw, Kachchhi, who was on 16, and Ruthik, who was on 21, played steadily with a single-minded focus. The strategy was to not take too many chances and wear down the bowlers. It worked as Kachchhi and Ruthik kept their heads down and played on the merit of the ball.
They neither showed any sign of nerves nor did they cave into the pressure of the situation. It was not an easy task, but they hold on to their objective with great diligence. The duo batted for almost 52 overs to defy the Vidarbha attack and steer their side to the shores of safety.
Kachchhi was the dominant partner as he kept the scoreboard ticking with Ruthik playing the able foil to him. They added 163 off 312 balls with Kachchi scoring 98 of those off 152 balls and Ruthik making 63 off 160 balls.
However, both of them fell at the same score to leave Hyderabad in a bit of bother. Kachchhi was stumped by Vedant Dighade off Himanshu Kawale just two short of what would have been a fighting century. His 98 came off 156 balls and contained 14 boundaries and one six.
Ruthik was caught and bowled by Guarav Farde after making 63 off 160 balls with eight fours. It was a knock which would have made patience blush. Ruthik deserves a lot of credit for the stone-walling effort.
To make sure that Kachchhi and Ruthik’s efforts did not go in vain, Aravelly Avanish and skipper Mayank Gupta put up another fighting stand. While Vidarbha skipper Mohd Faiz tried all the tricks in the book, the Hyderabad batters nullified all the attempts.
They added 66 off 139 balls with Mayank getting 37 of those in 79 balls and Avanish scoring 28 off 60 balls. After Mayank was gobbled up by Himanshu Kawale off Shree Choudhary, Avanish and Dheeraj Goud held fort.
However, Avanish (43; 98 balls, 4×4) fell after adding 27 for the fifth wicket to ignite some hopes in the Vidarbha camp. There was still time for Vidarbha to make something happen but Dheeraj (18 not out) and Vignesh Reddy (32 not out) held on grimly and denied Vidarbha a victory.
They faced 76 balls and added 45 for the unbroken sixth wicket to salvage some pride for Hyderabad.
Would Hyderabad have done better if they were at full strength? Looking at the way the batters performed on the final day, one would definitely say yes.
On the positive side, Raghav, riding on his first inning century, is among the Top 10 batters after four rounds of matches. He is at the eighth position as of now. Raghav has been consistent throughout the tournament. He has scored 388 runs with a century against Vidarbha. He also has two half-centuries against his name this season and averages 64.67.
SCOREBOARD
Vidarbha (1st innings): 420
Hyderabad (1st innings): 265
Vidarbha (2nd innings): 277/5 declared
Hyderabad (2nd innings): Pattapu Raghava c Bisht b Farde 4, Wafi Kachchhi st Dighade b Kawale 98, M Ruthik Yadav c & b Farde 63, Aravelly Avanish c & b Farde 43, Mayank Gupta c Kawale b Choudhary 37, Dheeraj Goud (not out) 18, Vignesh Reddy (not out) 32; Extras: (NB4, W1, B5) 10. Total: (For 5 wickets in 100.2 overs) 305.
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-167, 3-167, 4-233, 5-260.
Bowling: Gaurav Farde 32-4-116-3, Arjun Ingle 5-1-15-0, Himanshu Kawale 36-11-81-1, Jagjot 12-3-28-0, Sanskar Chavate 8-1-41-0, Shree Choudhary 7.2-1-19-1.
