A 139-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Rahul Radhesh and Pranav Varma saved Hyderabad the blushes as they ended Day 1 at 276 for six against Bengal in their CK Nayudu Trophy match at the Aditya Academy ground in Kolkata on Friday.
Electing to bat after skipper P Aman Rao won the toss, Hyderabad made a confident start with openers Pattapu Raghava and Aman Rao adding 53 for the first wicket before the skipper perished.
Aman was snapped up by Rohit off Sayed Irfan Aftab after he made a 60-ball 33 which contained seven fours. Raghava, however, did not last long as he fell to Prabhat Maurya for 21. Aravelly Avanish and Wafi Kachchhi (7) took the score to 114 with Avanish doing the bulk of the scoring. Kachchi and Avanish fell within one run of each other as Hyderabad were reduced to 115 for four. Avanish made a 71-ball 46 with seven fours. Vignesh Reddy (4) too did not last long as Hyderabad lost half of their side with just 128 on the board.
However, Rahul and Pranav defied the Bengal bowlers and consolidated their position. They added 139 for the sixth wicket off 230 balls with both batters keeping pace with each other. Pranav made 65 off 109 balls with two fours and four sixes and Rahul scored 66 off 121 balls. Pranav was cleaned up by Ravi Kumar.
At stumps, Rahul was batting on 82 off 139 balls with 10 fours and a six and giving him company was Nitin Sai Yadav on 2.
Brief scores: Hyderabad 276/6 in 90 overs (P Aman Rao 33, A Avanish 46, Rahul Radhesh 82 batting, Pranav Varma 65; Prabhat Maurya 3/29, Sayed Irfan Aftab 2/65) vs Bengal.
