Harsh may have missed out on a century by just six runs but his knock was worth its weight in gold as it helped Hyderabad take a slender 12 run lead against Himachal Pradesh in their U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy Elite group match at CP Ground in Mulapadu, Vijayawada, on Tuesday.
Replying to Himachal Pradesh’s 200, Hyderabad went on to make 212 thanks to Harsh’s patient knock of 94 which came off 274 balls and contained 18 fours and a six.
At stumps on the second day, Himachal Pradesh were 86 for no loss with openers Sameer Labana and Aryan Mehta going strong. Sameer was batting on 34 off 50 balls with six fours and the aggressive Aryan was on 50 off 59 balls with nine boundaries.
Resuming at their overnight score of35 for one, Hyderabad kept the fight going with Sai Tanishq and Harsh defying the rival bowlers. The duo went on to add 85 off 229 balls with Harsh contributing 45 off 120 balls and Tanishq scoring 38 off 109. The partnership ended when Tanishq was caught by Aadish Mihas off a Artharv Arya delivery. He made a 127-ball 48 with 10 boundaries.
Skipper Aditya Vardhan (1), Prince (4) and Guru Vidwan (2) did not last long, and Hyderabad were reduced to 106 for five.
With half the side back in the pavilion, it was left to Harsh to take the fight to the enemy camp. He found an able partner in Sai Sarath. The duo rebuilt the innings and denied Himachal Pradesh bowlers any leeway.
They added 87 for the sixth wicket off 181 balls with Sarath making 41 of those and Harsh scoring 34. Sarath was bowled by Hardik Sharma for 41 (81balls, 7×4, 1×6) and Hyderabad still needed eight runs for all-important lead.
Ved Reddy (5) stayed long enough with Harsh to ensure Hyderabad’s lead. Hyderabad soon were bowled out with Harsh being the last wicket to fall. Hyderabad made 212.
Hardik Sharma was the wrecker-in-chief as he took six for 53.
In their first innings, Himachal Pradesh rode on Akhilesh Gautam’s 189-ball 18, which contained 13 fours. Aryan Mehta chipped in with 43 and Uttam Parmar made 33 but none of the others contributed much as Himachal Pradesh were bowled out for 200.
Ayush Malhotra took four for 47 and Sai Sarath got two for 37 while Harsh finished with two for 22.
Brief scores: Himachal Pradesh 200 in 71 overs (Aryan Mehta 43, Akhilesh Gautham 89, Uttam Parmar 33, Ayush Malhotra 4/47) & 86/0 in 18 overs (Sameer L 34 batting, Aryan Mehta 50 batting) vs Hyderabad 212 in 90.3 overs (C Sai Tanishq 48, Harsh 94, Sai Sarath 41; Hardik Sharma 6/53).
