The intricacies of First Class cricket were on display at the Ekana International Cricket Stadium here on Friday when Andhra made a tactical declaration to set up an intriguing finish against Hyderabad in their Group C Ranji Trophy encounter.
Having secured a first-innings lead of 47 runs, Andhra plundered 171 before declaring its second essay. Hyderabad, set a target of 219, was 13 for no loss when bad light stopped play on the third day.
Only a win can carry Andhra (25 points) to the next stage while Hyderabad (30 points) needs a draw since Haryana (31 points) made the grade on Friday with a win over Tripura.
P. Vijay Kumar, a most hard-working seamer in the Andhra camp, played a stellar role by adding two more wickets this morning to add to his tally of two on the second day.
Furious tempo
Hanuma Vihari played the captain’s role brilliantly as he took 57 runs of 54 balls with five fours to set a furious tempo as Andhra looked to set a target of 200-plus. “The ball is doing a lot since there is help from the pitch.
“We needed some time today too because of the uncertain weather (fog), but I am sure we have a very good chance tomorrow (Saturday). The wear and tear of the surface will make run-making a difficult task,” said Vihari.
Towards the close, Andhra earned a lucky breakthrough when bowler Vijay Kumar deflected Akshath Reddy’s straight drive onto the stumps to catch non-striker Tanmay Agarwal out of the crease. On Saturday, the weather holds the key to Andhra’s progress in the tournament.
The scores:
Andhra — 1st innings: 190.
Hyderabad — 1st innings: Tanmay Agarwal b Siva Kumar 12, Akshath Reddy c Bharat b Vijay Kumar 10, S. Badrinath c Prasanth b Vijay Kumar 5, B. Anirudh c Vihari b Vijay Kumar 27, B. Sandeep c Bharat b Siva Kumar 2, Himalay Agarwal run out 22, K. Sumanth c Bharat b Vijay Kumar 3, Akash Bhandari c Vihari b Bhatt 23, C.V. Milind (not out) 29, Mohammed Siraj b Bhatt 1, Ravi Kiran b Ravi Teja 3; Extras (lb-2, nb-2, w-2): 6; Total (in 74.5 overs): 143.
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-21, 3-34, 4-36, 5-81, 6-84, 7-89, 8-127, 9-131.
Andhra bowling: P. Vijay Kumar 24-9-40-4, Siva Kumar 25-7-43-2, Bhargav Bhatt 11-4-24-2, C.V. Stephen 14-3-34-0, D.B. Ravi Teja 0.5-0-0-1.
Andhra — 2nd innings: K.S. Bharat c Sandeep b Milind 22, D.B. Ravi Teja c Sumanth b Milind 22, Hanuma Vihari b Siraj 57, D.B. Prasanth Kumar c Sumanth b Siraj 36, Ricky Bhui b Siraj 2, M. Pranith c Sumanth b Siraj 10, Ashwin Hebbar (not out) 18; Extras (b-1, lb-1, w-2): 4; Total (for six wkts. decl. in 29.3 overs): 171.
Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-51, 3-135, 4-137, 5-146, 6-171.
Hyderabad bowling: Ravi Kiran 10-0-61-0, C.V. Milind 9-0-43-2, Mohammed Siraj 8.3-0-52-4, Akash Bhandari 2-0-13-0.
Hyderabad — 2nd innings: Tanmay Agarwal run out 9, Akshath Reddy (batting) 2, B. Anirudh (batting) 2; Total (for one wkt. in seven overs): 13.
Fall of wickets: 1-9.
Andhra bowling: Vijay Kumar 4-2-6-0, Stephen 2-1-4-0, Bhatt 1-0-3-0.
