Hyderabad openers Tanmay Agarwal and M Abhirath Reddy had got their side off to a solid start with a century partnership but the visitors fared poorly thereafter to end up with a modest 275 on the board in their Ranji Trophy match against Andhra at the DVR Ground in Mulapadu, Vijayawada, on Sunday.
At stumps on the first day, Andhra were nine without loss in two overs with Hemanth Reddy on 4 and Abhishek Reddy on 5.
Abhirath and Tanmay put on 109 for opening wicket
Skipper Mohd Siraj won the toss and had no hesitation to bat first and the move seemed to be the right one as Tanmay and Abhirath flayed the Andhra attack. The duo held fort for nearly 29 overs and during that period, they put the Andhra attack to the sword.
Tanay hits Tripura for a six as Hyderabad score an innings and 40-run win to begin season well
Right-handed Abhirath Reddy was the aggressive of the duo, while southpaw Tanmay Agarwal was more than willing to let his junior partner dominate the bowling. They added 109 off 174 balls for the first wicket and it looked like Hyderabad were on their way to a huge score. Abhirath had contributed 65 off 99 balls, while Tanmay got 42.
Saurabh turns things around
However, left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar turned things around as he struck thrice in quick succession to reduce Hyderabad to 133 for three. First up, he had Tanmay caught by Abhishek Reddy after the batter had scored a 75-ball 42 with four boundaries.
Saurabh then had Abhirath caught by skipper Ricky Bhui for a solid 67 which came off 108 balls and contained eight fours and a six. Saurabh’s third wicket was former skipper G Rahul Singh, who was caught by Hemanth Reddy after making a 43-ball 20 with three fours.
Kodimela Himateja and Pragnay Reddy tried to stem the flow of wickets but they were not successful. Himateja (10) was snapped up by Bhui off Tripurana Vijay. However, Pragnay and Rahul Radesh stabilized the innings to the delight of the Hyderabad camp.
They added 53 off 13 balls with Pragnay doing the bulk of the scoring with a 56-ball 31, while Rahul contributed 16 off 57 balls. But it was too good to last and left-arm spinner A Lalith Mohan got the much-needed breakthrough by bowling Pragnay for 31 off 67 balls with three fours and a six.
Lalith Mohan and Vijay finish off Hyderabad
There was no more recovery for Hyderabad as they went southwards. Lalith packed off vice-captain Chama Milind (1) before off-spinner Vijay made the Hyderabad batters dance to his tune.
Vijay got rid of G Anikethreddy (9) by having him caught by SV Rahul and then he had Tanay Thyagaraj (14) caught by K Revanth Reddy. Tanay and Rahul had added 34 for the eighth wicket.
Andhra manage to eke out a draw against Karnataka, bag three points from the game
Vijay then dispatched off Mende Ruthik Yadav (7) and Lalit Mohan had Siraj (6) caught behind by Revanth Reddy (6) to end the innings at 275. Rahul remained unconquered on 58 off 105 balls with five fours and a six.
Vijay finished with figures of four for 90, while Saurabh Kumar took three for 75 and Lalith Mohan got three for 78.
It was surprising to see the Hyderabad management send M Ruthik Yadav to bat at No.10. Ruthik, who had made his first-class debut in the previous game against Tripura had batted at No.6 and scored a fine 61 which had shared a 78-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Rahul Radesh, which helped Hyderabad recover lost ground against Tripura.
Will Hyderabad manage to defend their total against Andhra, who had out batted Karnataka in their previous game? Tanay Thyagarajan and G Aniketh Reddy could prove a handful for the Andhra batters but familiarity with the conditions should help the hosts.
Brief scores: Hyderabad 275 in 86 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 42, Abhirath Reddy 67, Rahul Singh 20, Pragnay Reddy 31, Rahul Radesh 58 not out; Lalith Mohan 3/78, Tripurana Vijay 4/90, Saurabh Kumar 3/75) vs Andhra 9 for no loss in 2 overs.
