After taking the all-important first innings lead, Punjab chose to use the fourth day’s play for some well-deserved batting practice in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Hyderabad at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad on Thursday.
Punjab went on to make 240 for six declared after batting 54 overs in the day to take an overall lead of 291 runs. With nothing much left in the game, both sides decided to call off the game. Punjab earned three points from the game by virtue of their 51-run lead, while hosts Hyderabad to settle for one point. Hyderabad still continue to top Group B with 14 points, while Punjab are in the third spot with 12 points. Saurashtra have moved into the second spot with 13 points thanks to their innings and 12-run win against Assam.
Vihaan stuns Hyderabad with four-wicket haul, Punjab take vital 51-run first innings lead
Resuming at their overnight score of 57 with Vihaan Malhotra on 26 and Harnoor Singh on 27, Punjab lost Harnoor Singh with the addition of one run to his individual score. Harnoor was caught behind by wicketkeeper Pragnay Reddy off pacer Rakshann Readdi with the Punjab score reading 64.
Vihaan and Prabhsimran Singh continued to make merry as they added 59 off 71 balls with Prabhsimran scoring 34 off 40 balls and Vihaan getting 21 off 31 balls before he fell. Vihaan was bowled by Hyderabad skipper CV Milind for 53 off 119 balls with four boundaries and a six.
Skipper Uday Saharan joined Prabhsimran and they took the score to 166 before the latter perished. Prabhsimran was caught by K Himateja off left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan for 68 off 76 balls with five fours and four sixes.
Punjab skipper Saharan makes an unbeaten 55
Saharan was in no mood to go in for the declaration even though Punjab lost a few quick wickets. Rakshann bowled Jashanpreet Singh (4) and G Aniketh Reddy had first innings centurion Salil Arora caught by Pragnay Reddy for an 11-ball 0.
Saharan and Emanjot Singh Chahal then added 35 for the sixth wicket before Chahal (14) was caught by Tanmay Agarwal of Tanay. Saharan continued to bat and with Harjas Singh (7) for company, he added 31 for the unbroken seventh wicket.
Saharan finally declared the innings after reaching his half-century. The Punjab skipper’s unbeaten 55 came off 106 balls with eight fours and a six. Wicketkeeper-bat Salil Arora was named Player of the Match for his monumental 151 in the first innings.
For the hosts, it was a disappointing outing as they were keen to build on their earlier success. After defeating Tripura and Andhra, Hyderabad were keen on dominating Punjab.
However, it was not to be so as the Hyderabad spin attack failed to make an impact on the Punjab batters. In the first innings, the spinners got just two wickets and in the second they got three. On the other hand, the Punjab spinners got nine of the 10 Hyderabad wickets.
Mediumpacers Rakshann Readdi and skipper Milind were impressive as both of them finished the match with five wickets apiece.
Hyderabad next travel to Raipur to meet Chhattisgarh, while Punjab will take on Andhra in their next game.
Brief scores: Punjab 431 & 240 for six declared in 78 overs (Vihaan Malhotra 53, Harnoor Singh 28, Prabhsimran Singh 68, Uday Saharan 55 not out; Rakshann Readdi 2/16, Tanay Thyagarajan 2/51) drew Hyderabad 380. Punjab 3 points, Hyderabad 1.
