Off-spinner Vihaan Malhotra struck when it mattered most to help Punjab grab a 51-run first innings lead against Hyderabad in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad on Wednesday.
Having got the all-important lead, Punjab were 57 for no loss in 24 overs with Vihaan batting on 26 and Harnoor Singh on 27 at stumps on the penultimate day. Punjab now have an overall lead of 108 runs with one day’s play left in the game.
At 343 for four, Hyderabad, who were replying to Punjab’s 431, were all set for getting the vital lead with Kodimela Himateja batting on 81 and giving him company was Pragnay Reddy and they had already put on 64 for the fifth wicket.
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Punjab were losing the plot fast and in desperation skipper Uday Saharan threw the ball to part-time spinner Vihaan and the off-spinner not only responded in style but also turned the match on its head.
Vihaan struck with his second ball as he had Himateja leg before and that triggered a massive collapse. Himateja’s 81 came off 168 balls with five fours and three sixes. Vihaan then bowled skipper CV Milind (2) and left-arm spinner Emanjot Singh Chahal bowled M Ruthik Yadav (1) as Hyderabad lost three wickets for five runs in the span of five overs.
Vihaan was not done for the day as he trapped Tanay Thyagarajan (2) leg before and also got rid of G Aniketh Reddy (1), caught by Saharan.
Pragnay Reddy, who was holding on firmly, was the last man to fall when he was caught by substitute Sanvir Singh off Chahal for 65 off 106 balls with four boundaries and four over it.
Hyderabad were all out for 380 in 119.5 overs. They had lost their last six wickets for the addition of only 37 runs with most of those runs coming from the blade of Pragnay Reddy.
Resuming at their overnight score of 193 for two, Hyderabad lost Rahul Radesh for the addition of 41 to the score as the Hyderabad batters were on top of the Punjab attack. Rahul was caught behind by Salil Arora of off-spinner Harjas Singh. Rahul and Himateja had added 65 off 151 balls for the third wicket.
There were no further alarms as the Hyderabad batters continued merrily dwindling down the Punjab lead. Himateja and A Varun Goud (25) added 45 off 100 balls before Harjas Singh struck again. He had Varun leg before to end the blossoming partnership.
Himateja and Pragnay Reddy then added 64 for the fifth wicket before calamity struck the hosts and they wilted under the sustained pressure of the Punjab bowlers.
Punjab spinners bagged nine out of 10 Hyderabad wickets to fall. This is in contrast to the performance of the Hyderabad spinners. They had got just two wickets in the Punjab first innings.
Brief scores: Punjab 431/10 in 124.5 overs & 57/0 in 24 overs (Vihaan Malhotra 26 batting, Harnoor Singh 27 batting) vs Hyderabad 380 in 119.5 overs (Abhirath Reddy 97, Rahul Radhesh 86, K Himateja 81, Pragnay Reddy 65, A Varun Goud 25; Vihaan Malhotra 4/15, Emanjot Singh Chahal 2/86, Harjas Tandon 2/85).
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Cyclone Arnab ruined the third’s day play between Andhra and Chhattisgarh at the DVR ground in Mulapadu, Vijayawada.
Amandeep Khare keeps Chhattisgarh hopes alive, Andhra need just 2 wickets for lead
At close of play on the second day, Chhattisgarh were 216 for eight with Amandeep Khare batting on 74 and Dev Aditya Singh on 5. The visitors need 16 runs to get the all-important lead, while the hosts have to get two wickets cheaply.
Brief scores: Andhra 231 vs Chhattisgarh 216 for eight in 95 overs (Anuj Tiwary 34, Mayank Varma 20, Amandeep Khare 74 batting, Ajay Mandal 29; Tripurana Vijay 3/73, Saurabh Kumar 2/74).
