Countering spin proved to be the key at Guru Nanak College, and it was Hyderabad who executed better than Haryana to secure a place in the final of the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament on Wednesday.
Left-arm spinner Nitin Sai Yadav finished with seven for 44 as the defending champion dismantled Haryana for 181 in a 272-run chase.
Nitin Sai, who had already taken two wickets in a single over on day three, continued to trouble the Haryana batters as they struggled to read him throughout the innings.
Overnight batters, Himanshu Rana and Lakshya Dalal, began the day with positive intent, striking a flurry of boundaries, particularly against left-arm spinner Aniketh Reddy. Himanshu, Haryana’s standout batter in the previous innings, once again looked in control.
As their partnership grew, it appeared Haryana might take the chase deep. The pitch had settled nicely under the scorching sun and looked ideal for batting. However, with the tweakers still getting sharp turn, captain Rahul Singh only bowled two overs of pace.
The persistence paid off as Aniketh struck a crucial breakthrough, inducing an edge from Lakshya (36 off 91 balls) that carried to slip. The ball turned sharply from middle stump. In the following over, Himanshu (46 off 76) fell to an excellent catch at short-leg off Rohit Rayudu.
With two quick wickets, Hyderabad tightened the noose, but Sumit Kumar and Dheeru Singh added 41 runs off 84 deliveries to keep Haryana’s hopes alive.
Post Lunch, however, Haryana’s resistance crumbled. Nitin Sai returned to clean up Sumit off the first ball, followed by Yashvardhan Dalal, before rattling Dheeru’s (35 off 72) stumps. Parth Vats (32 off 40) smacked three sixes and a couple of fours, but only to delay the inevitable. From 125 for four, Haryana lost the remaining wickets for just 56 runs.
Hyderabad will face TNCA Presidents XI in the final at the CSK HPC ground, starting September 6.
Published on Sep 03, 2025