Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Hyderabad bowlers corner Vidarbha on opening day
A concerted bowling effort and a half-century at the top of the order from Tanmay Agarwal put Hyderabad on the front foot against Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy group stage match at the VCA Stadium here on Thursday.
Tanmay, the leading run-scorer in the competition this season, forged partnerships with Abhirath Reddy and Rahul Radesh to take Hyderabad to 90 for two at the end of the day’s play, trailing Vidarbha by 100 runs.
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Abhirath got a brisk start, driving Harsh Dubey for three boundaries in the first over of the Hyderabad essay. The opener could not make it count though, nicking one to Atharva Taide in the cordon to depart for 20. Wicketkeeper-batter Radesh and Tanmay grinded out a 39-run partnership in 68 balls before the former was castled, looking to cut a full ball on the stumps. Tanmay completed his fifty in 78 balls, seeing off the final phase of play in the day with K. Himateja for company.
Earlier, the visitor got the perfect start after opting to field first on a pitch with an overlay of grass in the good-length area. Dhruv Shorey flicked his third ball to short square leg where Varun Goud completed a fine diving effort. Buoyed by the returning Mohammed Siraj, the Hyderabad pacers kept the pressure on the Vidarbha top order. The India speedster cut a frustrated figure after umpteen play and misses outside off stump from Danish Malewar. The number three was also dropped by Himateja at second slip, adding to the Siraj’s woes.
After captain C.V. Milind forced Taide to nick to the cordon, first-change bowler Rakshann Readdi removed the in-form Karun Nair with an overpitched delivery outside off which he edged behind. All-rounder Parth Rekhade was promoted up the order to stop the bleeding and the 25-year-old managed a 48-ball resistance before chipping an easy catch to short mid-wicket against G. Anikethreddy. Yash Rathod and Akshay Wadkar too stuck around for a brief period before being trapped in front.
With wickets falling around him, Dubey went for his shots, aggregating four boundaries in a single over against Milind. After Siraj was brought into the attack for his fourth spell, the southpaw launched him down the ground, before pulling a short ball over the deep square fence for another six, much to the delight of the few hundred fans that had made their way to the stadium. The 22-year-old brought up his fifty off 41 balls with a sweep shot through square leg against Anikethreddy.
Siraj eventually had the last laugh after Harsh top-edged a short ball to deep fine leg where Himateja completed a superb run-and-dive catch to send the all-rounder back to the pavillion for 65. Vice-captain Tanay Thyagarajan then picked the final wicket of the innings to restrict the home team to 190 in 55.5 overs.
