Published: January 6, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Aman Rao and Mohd Siraj fashioned Hyderabad’s 107-run win over Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday. Aman Rao smashed an unbeaten double century to propel Hyderabad to 352 for five and then Mohd Siraj took four wickets to decimate the Bengal chase as they folded up for 245.
Chasing a huge target, Bengal needed a robust start to their innings. And who better to give it than skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran as he strode to the wicket with debutant Sumit Nag. The openers, especially Nag, showed the right intent but they had not contented with pacer Siraj, who is back in the India ODI side for the New Zealand tour to India. The right-handed pacer showed his appreciation to the national selectors for picking him up, with an incisive spell.
It was a spell that broke not only the back of Bengal batting but also their spirit to put up a fight. Siraj rocked Bengal by trapping Nag (10) leg before with just 17 on the board.
Easwaran and Karan Lal added 21 off 12 balls as they tried to take the attack to the enemy camp. But the ploy didn’t work against the Hyderabad pacers Siraj and CV Milind. Siraj struck a lethal blow when he had the Bengal captain caught by Rakshann Readdi for 15 in the fifth over of the innings.
Siraj further dented Bengal as he got rid of Sudip Kumar Gharami (0) with the very next ball. Milind then joined the party to have Karan (13) caught behind by Pragnay Reddy to leave Bengal in dire straits at 50 for four.
With their back broken, Bengal needed someone to restore their confidence. Anustup Mazumdar and Shahbaz Ahmed repaired the innings with a 123-ball partnership for the fifth wicket which was worth 97. But the asking rate kept on climbing and were always one step away from falling apart again.
Readdi got the breakthrough when he had Majumdar caught by Rahul Singh for 59 which came off 72 balls and contained four fours and a six.
Shahbaz carried on his work, but he lacked support from the other end. Shahbaz remained unbeaten on 108 off 113 balls with nine fours and four sixes as Bengal folded up for 245 in 44.4 overs.
Siraj finished with figures of four for 58 and K Nitesh Reddy bagged two for 32.
Bengal bowlers fail to contain Aman
Earlier, put into bat, Hyderabad openers Aman and Rahul made merry at the expense of the Bengal bowlers which had the likes of India players Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep.
Aman began cautiously, managing only three runs off his first 10 deliveries, content to play second fiddle as Rahul took the early initiative during their century stand.
Hyderabad opener Aman Rao hammered Bengal bowlers in their Vijay Hazare Trophy match in Rajkot on Tuesday
Rahul made a 54-ball 65 with seven fours and three sixes in the 104-run partnership for the opening wicket before he fell to Rohit Kumar. Aman reached his half-century in 65 balls before gradually shifting gears as the innings unfolded.
Barring the first wicket stand, Aman played a dominant role throughout the innings. He contributed 51 off 52 balls in the 87-run second wicket partnership with skipper Tilak Nadu. The captain, who loves to play aggressively, showed great maturity in letting his younger partner hog the limelight. Tilak fell to Shahbaz for 34. Pragnay Reddy made 22 in the 76-run stand for the fourth wicket with Aman contributing 53.
Thereafter, it was an Aman show all the way till the last ball of the innings. Aman brought up his maiden List A hundred in 107 balls in the 38th over. From there, he moved seamlessly through the gears, reaching the 150-mark in 134 balls with consecutive sixes in the 46th over before unleashing a stunning late assault.
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The 21-year-old batter needed just 20 balls to surge from 150 to 200, completing his double century in a dramatic final over to steer Hyderabad to a strong first innings total of 352/5. His innings was studded with 12 fours and 13 sixes.
Aman made his List A debut only last week, while in T20 cricket, he has already featured in 11 matches, scoring 301 runs at an average of 33.44 and an impressive strike rate of 162.70.
SCOREBOARD
Hyderabad: Aman Rao (not out) 200, Rahul Singh G c Mukesh b Rohit 65, Tilak Varma c Sumanta Gupta b Shahbaz 34, Abhirath Reddy c Nag b Shami 5, Pragnay Reddy c Nag b Shami 22, Pranav Varma c Akash b Shami 7, CV Milind (not out) 6; Extras: (W10, LB3) 13. Total: (For 5 wickets in 50 overs) 352.
Fall of wickets: 1-104, 2-191, 3-197, 4-273, 5-316.
Bowling: Mohammed Shami 10-1-70-3, Akash Deep 8-0-8-0, Mukesh Kumar 7-0-55-0, Shahbaz Ahmed 10-0-57-1, Rohit Kumar 10-0-61-1, Karan Lal 5-0-20-0.
Bengal: Sumit Nag lbw Siraj 10, Abhimanyu Easwaran c Readdi b Siraj 15, Karan Lal c Pragnay b Milind 13, Sudip Kumar Gharami b Siraj 0, Anustup Majumdar c Rahul b Readdi 59, Shahbaz Ahmed (not out) 108, Sumanta Gupta c Pragnay b Varma 2, Akash Deep c sub (Varun Goud) b Yadav 12, Mohammed Shami c sub (Varun Goud) b Nitesh 7, Rohit Kumar lbw Siraj 1, Mukesh Kumar c & b Nitesh 6; Extras: (B4, LB2, NB1, W5) 12. Total: (All out in 44.4 overs) 245.
Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-38, 3-38, 4-50,5-146, 6-158, 7-193, 8-209, 9-220.
Bowling: Mohammed Siraj 10-0-58-4, CV Milind 7-0-38-1, Rakshann Readdi 7-0-27-1, Nitin Sai Yadav 7-0-38-1, Pranav Varma 7-0-46-1, Nitesh Reddy 6.4-0-32-2.
