MA Malik’s five-wicket haul helped Hyderabad bowl out Assam for 246 on the first day of their four-day Col CK Nayudu Trophy at the RGIC Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday.
At stumps on the first day, Hyderabad were 55 for no loss with skipper P Aman Rao batting on 40 off 37 balls with eight hits to the fence. Giving him company was Pattapu Raghava on 12 (31 balls; 1×6).
Earlier, Assam skipper Sumit Kashyap won the toss and decided to bat first. However, Hyderabad struck early when Malik had opener Rajveer Singh caught by Nitin Sai Yadav for 10.
But Pravej Musaraf and No.3 bat Pradyun Saikia defied the Hyderabad bowlers for 32 overs and tried to rebuild the innings. They were partially successful as they strung a 113-run partnership for the second wicket off 192 balls. Parvej made 63 off 93, while Pradyun Saikia contributed 47 off 99 balls. The partnership was broken by Dinesh Rathod who had Pravej caught by Nitin Sai Yadav after the batter had made 72 off 113 balls with five fours and four sixes.
Pranav Varma got rid of Sourav Dihingia (18) and Malik got the prize wicket of Pradyun, who made 53 off 129 balls with eight fours to reduce Assam to 157 for four.
Four balls later, Malik struck for the third time as he trapped Roshan Topno leg before for a nought. But Sumit and Ayushman Malakar kept their side afloat with a 60-run partnership for the sixth wicket. The duo scored those runs off 95 balls with Ayushman contributing the bulk with a 38. Sumit made 21.
Once the partnership was broken by Malik, Assam lost their way and were bowled out for 246.
Malik took five for 59 and Pranav bagged two for 37, while Wafi Kachchhi claimed two for 44.
Brief scores: Assam 246 in 76.5 overs (Parvej Musraf 72, Pradyun Saikia 53, Ayushman Malakar 43; MA Malik 5/59, Pranav Varma 2/37, Wafi Kachchhi 2/44) vs Hyderabad 55/0 in 11 overs (P Aman Rao 40 batting, P Raghava 12 batting)
