Published: October 27, 2026 at 7:04 pm
M Abhirath Reddy and Rahul Radesh led Hyderabad’s spirited reply as the hosts ended day two on a happy note with 193 for two on the board against Punjab in their four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad on Tuesday.
Replying to Punjab’s 431, Hyderabad lost opener Tanmay Agarwal (2) with just 15 on the board. The southpaw was caught by J Sidhu off left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar.
But Abhirath Reddy and Rahul Radesh, who came to bat at No.3 in place of the dropped G Rahul Singh, mixed aggression with caution to deny Punjab any leeway.
Aggressive Abhirath falls for 97 to Umesh
Abhirath, who was the aggressive of the duo, was at his best as he struck the bowlers to all parts of the ground. The right and left combination worked well for Hyderabad as the batters negotiated the Punjab attack well.
A late fightback by Salil and Ramandeep helps Punjab take the honours against Hyderabad
They added 154 off 259 for the second wicket with Abhirath scoring 88 of those off 136 balls, while Rahul made 5 off 123 balls.
Abhirath, however, fell short of a century as he was caught behind by Salil Arora off pacer Umesh Yadav for 97 off 140 balls with 12 fours and a six.
Rahul and K Himateja saw the hosts through for the day as Hyderabad reached 193 for two with Rahul batting on 72 off 154 balls with nine fours, while Himateja was batting on 8 off 23 balls with a four.
Earlier, a brilliant century partnership between Salil Arora and Umesh Yadav for the final wicket stunned Hyderabad and gave Punjab a platform to dictate terms.
Resuming at their overnight score of 289 for six with Salil Arora on 57 and Emanjot Singh Chahal on 5, Punjab added 14 more runs before skipper CV Milind struck. He had Emanjot (9) caught by K Himateja to lead the Hyderabad charge.
A charged up Milind made things worse for Punjab as they lost Harjas Singh (0) with the score reading 309. Harjas was caught behind by Pragnay Reddy off Milind.
The left-arm seamer struck the third blow of the morning when he trapped Harpreet Brar (2) leg before to reduce Punjab to 315 for nine.
Salil and Umesh fight back resolutely
The hosts were keen on wrapping up the issue and get their innings going but things got messy for them as wicketkeeper Arora and last man Umesh Yadav put up a stirring fightback which knocked the winds of the Hyderabad attack.
Salil, who had played a subdued innings on the first day, turned gears effortlessly as he took on the Hyderabad bowling. With Umesh giving him good company, Salil tore into the rival attack. The duo added 116 off 154 balls for the last wicket with Salil contributing 78 off 98 balls and Umesh getting 37 off 56 balls.
Pacer Rakshan Readdi ended Hyderabad’s agony by castling Salil but not before the batter had got to a fine 151 off 268 balls with 11 fours and four sixes. Salil’s 57 on the previous day came off 143 balls but on the second day he took just 121 balls to get 94 invaluable runs for his side. Umesh’s unbeaten 37 contained three fours and three sixes.
Milind finished with four for 79 and Rakshann got three for 80. The spinners Tanay Thyagarajan and G Aniketh Reddy, who had done all the damage in the previous two games, got only a wicket each as the wicket, which was supposed to aid spinners, played truant.
Brief scores: Punjab 431 in 124.5 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 81 Jashanpreet Singh 45, Salil Arora 151, Ramandeep Singh 52, Umesh Yadav 37 not out; CV Milind 4/79, Rakshan Readdi 3/80) vs Hyderabad 193 for two in 54 overs (Abhirath Reddy 97, Rahul Radesh 72 batting).
