Aniketh and Tanay spin Tripura out for a lowly 134; Hyderabad reach 121 for 4 at stumps

Spin twins G Aniketh Reddy and Tanay Thyagarajan spun out Tripura for a low score and opener Tanmay Agarwal steadied the Hyderabad with an unbeaten 48 as the hosts took the honours on the first day of their four-day Ranji Trophy opener at the Gymkhana ground in Secunderabad on Sunday.

Aniketh Reddy bagged five for 21 and Tanay took three for 37 as Tripura were bowled out for a lowly 134 after making a promising start.

At stumps, Hyderabad reached 121 for four with Tanmay batting on 48 and Ruthik Yadav giving him company on 11.

After a sound start, Tripura gave it all up as the middle-order caved in without a fight. Skipper Manisankar Murasingh won the toss and had no hesitation to bat first.

Tanay Thayagarajan struck thrice in two overs to not only halt the progress but also to derail the Tripura innings

The move paid off as openers Bikramkumar Das and Hrituraj Roy (33; 70balls, 5×4) took on the Hyderabad attack and kept them at bay for over 23 overs. During that time, it looked like Hyderabad bowlers were in for a long haul as the Tripura openers scored at a brisk rate.

Tanay Thyagarajan struck thrice in two overs to not only halt the progress but also to derail the innings. Tanay first got rid of Roy by having him caught by Rahul Radesh. In the next over, Tanay had new man Sridam Paul (0) caught by Abhirath Reddy and two balls later had the prize catch of former India player GH Vihari (0).

This completely changed the complexion of the game as Tripura were unable to fight back. Das and Mandeep Singh tried to repair the damage with a 48-run partnership for the fourth wicket, but spinner Aniketh Reddy struck twice in the same over to annihilate any fight left in the Tripura camp.

Aniketh trapped Mandeep Singh (24; 52, 3×4) leg before and two balls later bowled new man Sentu Sarkar (0). To make things worse for Tripura, opener Das was bowled by M Ruthik Yadav after a patient 50 which came off 107 balls and contained four fours and two sixes.

Thereafter, it was an Aniketh Reddy show as the left-arm spinner ran through the tail leaving Murasingh unbeaten on 1.

From 80 for no loss to 134 all out, Tripura will have to blame themselves for a lack of application and showing the gumption to fight when the odds were stacked against them. Even the 134 would have not been achieved but for the largesse of Hyderabad who conceded 24 extras, 16 of which came in the form of byes.

In their reply, Hyderabad opener Tanmay Agarwal and M Abhirath Reddy began on a strong note by adding 60 before Abhirath was caught by Murasingh off Sandip Sarkar for 32 (56 balls; 3×4, 1×6).

Former skipper Rahul Singh (5) was done in by the same combination and a ball later Sarkar got rid of Pragnay Reddy (0).

Tanmay and K Himateja then added 38 for the fourth wicket before Sarkar struck yet again. The off-spinner had Himateja (18; 52 balls, 2×4) caught and bowled to leave Hyderabad in a bit of bother at 104 for four.

However, Tanmay (48; 107 balls, 2×4) and M Ruthik Yadav (11) saw off the day without further damage.

Sandip Sarkar has taken all the four wickets to fall in the innings while conceding 44 runs.

Brief scores: Tripura 134 in 44 overs (Bikramkumar Das 50, Hrituraj Roy 33, Mandeep Singh 24; G Aniketh Reddy 5/21, Tanay Thyagarajan 3/37) vs Hyderabad 121 for four in 41 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 48 batting, M Abhirath Reddy 32, K Himateja 18, M Ruthik Yadav 11 batting; Sandip Sarkar 4/44).