Chhattisgarh skipper Anuj Tiwary and Vikalp Tiwari scored half-centuries to overcome the double blow by left-arm spinner G Aniketh Reddy on the opening day of their four-day Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad on Monday.
At stumps, the visitors were battling it out at 279 for seven with Jayant Yadav holding fort with an unbeaten 36 off 108 balls with four fours and giving him company was Ajay Mandal on nine off 12 balls with two fours.
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Electing to bat, Chhattisgarh made a modest start with openers Aayush Pandey (17) and Anuj Tiwary adding 22 for the first wicket before pacer C Rakshann Readdi struck in the ninth over of the day. Rakshann had Aayush caught behind by Pragnay Reddy as the hosts looked to make early inroads.
However, Anuj and wicketkeeper Mayank Verma denied Hyderabad the breakthrough they were looking for. The duo steadied the innings with a fighting 65-run stand for the second wicket which consumed 102 balls before Mayank fell. Anuj contributed 29 off 43 balls, while Mayank made a 59-ball 36 with six boundaries before falling.
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Left-arm spinner Aniketh Reddy then struck twice in the 26th over to tilt the balance in favour of the hosts. Aniketh had Mayank caught behind by Pragnay off the second ball of the over. Three balls later, Aniketh had Sanjeet Desai (0) caught by Tanmay Agarwal to reduce Chhattisgarh to 87 for three.
To make matters worse for the visitors, another left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan struck a big blow by having Amandeep Khare (0) caught by K Himateja as Chhattisgarh were left reeling at 94 for four. Amandeep had played a major role in Chhattisgarh’s win over Andhra the previous week.
However, the visitors did roll over and with Anuj finding a formidable ally in Vikalp Tiwari, they rebuilt the innings. The duo employed a cautious approach in denying the Hyderabad bowlers any leeway.
Anuj and Vikalp steady Chhattisgarh
Anuj and Vikalp put the best partnership of the innings thus far as they added 93 off 132 balls to stabilize the Chhattisgarh innings. Anuj contributed33 off 69, while the more enterprising Vikalp made 54 off 63 balls.
Anuj, who was holding one end firmly, was trapped leg before by his counterpart CV Milind but not before making a composed 72 off 33 balls with five fours and a six.
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Vikalp and Jayant Yadav then added 29 for the sixth wicket before Vikalp was bowled by off-spinner Ruthik Yadav. Vikalp scored 69 off 96 balls with eight fours and a six.
The Hyderabad bowlers then tried to run through the side, but Jayant and Prateek Yadav stalled them. The Chhattisgarh batters put paid to the hosts’ aspirations with a 48-run partnership off 120 balls for the seventh wicket. Rakshann brought some cheer to the Hyderabad camp in the last half-an-hour’s play as he had Prateek caught by Abhirath Reddy to end the resistance. Prateek made 27 off 64 balls with a four and a six.
Aniketh Reddy finished with two for 59 while Rakshann bagged two for 34. Milind, Tanay and Ruthik took a wicket each.
With just three wickets in hand, the visitors will look to stretch the innings as long as they can and garner as many runs as possible. On the other hand, Hyderabad will look to wind up the rival innings within the first hour of play. Which side will be able to execute their plans will make for an interesting second day’s play.
Brief scores: Chhattisgarh 279/7 in 87 overs (Anuj Tiwary 72, Mayank Verama 36, Vikalp Tiwari 69, Jayant Yadav 36 batting, Prateek Yadav 27; G Aniketh Reddy 2/59, C Rakshann Readdi 2/34) vs Hyderabad.
