Published: January 12, 2026 at 4:00 pm
The Ranji Trophy match between Hyderabad and Andhra in the 1993-94 season, occupies a special place in Hyderabad’s cricket history. On January 11th, 1994, Hyderabad’s batters achieved a feat that had never been achieved before. Not in Hyderabad. Not in India. Replying to Andhra’s 263, Hyderabad piled up a mammoth 944 for 6 declared in 211 overs. It still remains the highest total ever posted in Indian First-class cricket.
M V Sridhar
In the Ranji Trophy records, Hyderabad’s total surpassed Tamil Nadu’s 912 for 6 against Goa in 1988 and Holkar’s 912 for 8 against Mysore in 1945.
At the world level, it is the fifth highest total in first class cricket. The maximum runs ever posted by any team is 1107 by Victoria against New South Wales at Melbourne in 1926-27. The second highest total also belongs to Victoria. It stands at 1059 scored against Tasmania in 1922-23 again at Melbourne. Third is Sri Lanka’s total of 952 for 6 declared against India in 1997. Fourth is 951 for 7 declared by Sindh against Baluchistan in 1973-74 at Karachi. And then it is Hyderabad’s effort at the Gymkhana ground in Secunderabad.
From the outset, Hyderabad’s batters dominated the proceedings, turning the match into a marathon exhibition of stroke play coupled with patience and endurance. Partnerships grew relentlessly, centuries followed one another, and the bowlers of Andhra were pushed into long, exhausting spells with little reward.
NP Singh takes five to restrict Andhra to 263
Hyderabad medium pacer N P Singh bagged five for 84 in Andhra’s first innings
Andhra skipper Mohd Fasse-ur Rehman won the toss and decided to bat first. Andhra opener G N Srinivas did well with the bat but was unlucky to miss his century as he was caught by wicketkeeper Youraj Singh off seamer N P Singh when he was on 99. The skipper did well too and scored 73 but the rest of the batting line up caved in to some astute seam bowling by N P Singh, who had figures of five for 84 in the first innings.
Back then Singh was the most consistent wicket-taker for Hyderabad. He was known as the “smiling assassin” and he formed a deadly combination with the spin duo of Venkatapathy Raju and Kawaljit Singh. Feared for his ability to swing the ball both ways, N P Singh found a way to bag wickets even in unfavourable conditions. He was unlucky to have never donned the Indian colours despite capturing 319 First-class wickets.
Vanka Prathap, who shared the new ball with Singh, took 3 for 55 and Andhra were all out for a modest 263.
Andhra opener G N Srinivas missed out on a century by one run
Hyderabad’s partnerships that broke Andhra’s back
In reply, Abdul Azeem and R A Swaroop opened for Hyderabad. Swaroop departed after having scored 13 but then things began to look ominous for Andhra. The second wicket partnership between Azeem and M V Sridhar added 140 runs before Azeem was dismissed for 85. The next man Prathap was run out for 17 and then came the biggest partnership of all.
Vivek Jaisimha came to the wicket and provided M V Sridhar with the support that he needed. Vivek was all class, batting in his typically casual but elegant style. At the other end Sridhar was as remorseless as he usually was. A prolific and consistently high scoring batter, Sridhar had 21 first-class centuries in a career that stretched from 1988-89 to 1999-2000. Whenever he got settled in, there was little the opposition could do other than hope that he may make a mistake.
That day, Sridhar made no mistakes. He and Vivek put on a huge stand that was worth 344 runs before Vivek was out for a career best 211 runs. At this stage Hyderabad’s total read 554 for 4. But the unrelenting Sridhar was not done yet. He now found another able partner in Noel David, and they continued to torture the Andhra bowlers. The duo added 326 runs for the 5th wicket.
https://khelkhiladis.com/secunderabad-stories-when-khel-khiladis-ruled/
At the other end, Noel David also scored his personal best score of 207 not out. Noel told the media later: “In that game, I would have never scored a double century had Sridhar not supported me. He encouraged me to go for the shots. And he also told me to convert ones into twos and set small targets. He knew how to plan an innings.”
Vivek Jaisimha scored a career best 211 and added 344 runs for the third wicket with M V Sridhar
Vivek Jaisimha also said that Sridhar was a master in stitching big partnerships. “In that particular match, there was nothing much to play for and we just kept on motivating each other,” Vivek said. Sadly, the triple centurion of that match passed away in 2017 aged only 51. Azeem is the other player from that side who is no more.
It was a records’ galore by Sridhar
Sridhar went on to compile his career best innings of 366 with the help of thirty-seven 4s and five 6s off 523 deliveries. Sridhar had batted for a whopping 699 minutes; he started batting on Day 2 and finally was out on Day 4. His 366 is still the third-highest individual score in Ranji Trophy, behind Bhausaheb Nimbalkar’s 443 not out and Sanjay Manjrekar’s 377. During his innings, Sridhar set a record that still stands today, when he was at the wicket, Hyderabad scored 850 runs (he came in at 30 for 1 and was dismissed at 880 for 5). This was the record for most runs scored by a team during one batter’s stay at the crease.
“Doc (Sridhar) would never get tired. He loved his batting, and his style was to grind the bowlers into submission. He would just go on and on and on… the bowlers had to give in. After Azeem bhai (Abdul) set the tone, it was Doc and Vivek who had that long partnership which decimated the opposition. My partnership with Doc was the icing on the cake,” Noel David told Khel Khiladis on Monday.
Marathon Man: Sridhar went on to compile his career best innings of 366 with the help of thirty-seven 4s and five 6s off 523 deliveries. He batted for a whopping 699 minutes. His 366 is still the third-highest individual score in Ranji Trophy history
“As I had said earlier, I owe it all to Doc (MV Sridhar). He shepherded me through the innings. As we had played a lot of cricket together for Syndicate Bank, he knew my style of batting, which included my strength and weakness. Hence, he guided me all along the way and at every false stroke, he would come over and say, “Don’t do anything foolish. Just stay with me and we will sail along.” He was a master tactician, who knew how to plan and execute an innings,” Noel added.
The sheer scale of the total reflected the depth and strength of Hyderabad cricket of that era, when the team regularly featured seasoned performers. In its second innings Andhra scored 180 for 7 when the match ended in a draw.
“Hats off to the Andhra bowlers, who just kept coming at us. They did not really give up. It takes a lot of courage and commitment to keep bowling such long spells. They were tired and would keep asking us to declare,” Noel said and added, “Actually, our bowlers, especially NP Singh, deserve credit for bowling out Andhra and giving us all the time needed to pile up the runs”
Noel David also scored his personal best score of 207 not out and added 326 runs for the fifth wicket
A bruising experience for Andhra
For Andhra, it was a bruising experience, but one that highlighted the imbalance that sometimes marked the Ranji Trophy’s zonal structure in those days. “What other option did we have. We just could not walk out of the match. Hyderabad had thought about declaring earlier but they kept batting on. After 500 runs were scored there was nothing the bowlers could do,” Fasse-ur Rehman told Khel Khiladis on Monday.
“It was not an easy thing as a captain to motivate the bowlers but due credit to them for doing their job with commitment. The outfield was very fast and, therefore, it was not easy to contain batters of that quality. Now Hyderabad has stopped producing batters of that quality or even spin bowlers. They have good fielders and medium pacers, but they are lacking in the spin department and also batting,” he added.
“Sridhar was knocking at the Indian team door and, therefore, it was a golden opportunity for him and others to grab the attention of the selectors. Hence, they kept on batting and in the process notched up quite a few records. We too are in the record books but on the receiving side,” he said with a hearty chuckle.
Now, more than three decades later, the mammoth score of 944 for 6 declared is still recalled with awe. It remains a symbol of Hyderabad’s dominance and one of the most extraordinary batting feats ever witnessed in India’s premier domestic championship.
