Electing to bowl, Goa got an early break-through when medium pacer Rituraj Singh dismissed opener Tanmay Agarwal (14) with the visitor's score at 25. But skipper Hanuma Vihari (82) and other opener Akshath Reddy (61) then steadied Hyderabad innings with a 113-run second wicket partnership
THE GOAN NETWORK
Porvorim
Hyderabad got off to a decent start on the first day of their opening Group C Ranji Trophy cricket match against Goa at the Goa Cricket Association ground here today. Asked to bat, the visitors posted 246 for five before the day's proceeding was called off early due to rains with 21 overs still remaining to be completed.
Electing to bowl, Goa got an early break-through when medium pacer Rituraj Singh dismissed opener Tanmay Agarwal (14) with the visitor's score at 25.
But skipper Hanuma Vihari (82) and other opener Akshath Reddy (61) then steadied Hyderabad innings with a 113-run second wicket partnership.
While Vihari struck 11 boundaries during his 165-ball knock, Reddy decirated his 118-ball innings with 10 hits to the fence.
The partnership was eventually broken by spinner Shadab Jakati, who caught Reddy of his own bowling.
Vihari, in the meantime, completed his half century but became Rituraj's second victim of the day just 18 runs short of his century.
Hyderabad also lost two quick wickets in the form of Bavanaka Sandeep (22) and A Ashish Reddy (8).
Hyderabad were dealt another setback when wicketkeeper Habeeb Ahmed got injured and had to retire hurt on 5, before bad light and rains drew premature curtains to the day's proceedings.
Balchander Anirudh (24) and Akash Bhandari (15) were at the crease when play stopped.
For Goa, Rituraj (2/52) clinched two wickets while Jakati and Amit Yadav picked up a wicket each.
Brief Scores: Hyderabad 1st innings: 246 for five in 69 overs (Hanuma Vihari 82, Akshath Reddy 61; Rituraj Singh 2/52).
Yusuf, Bhatt run through TN
AGENCIES
Chennai
Baroda's spin duo of Bhargav Bhatt and Yusuf Pathan called the shots with four wickets each, shooting out Tamil Nadu for 125.
That the pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium assisted turn came as no surprise. With a formidable batting line-up and an inexperienced pace attack, Tamil Nadu depend heavily on their spinners to come good, and started the Ranji Trophy 2015-16 in expected fashion with three specialist spinners in the XI.
On Thursday (October 1), the first day of their opening Group B match against Baroda, though, it was the visitors who gave the hosts a taste of their own medicine. Baroda’s spin duo of Bhargav Bhatt and Yusuf Pathan called the shots with four wickets each, shooting out Tamil Nadu, who opted to bat, for a paltry 125.
Rahil Shah, the left-arm spinner, gave Baroda some nervous moments and even got through debutant Hitesh Solanki’s defence with a vicious turner, but Kedar Devdhar (17) and Aditya Waghmode (4) ensured they went to stumps with the day’s honours at 33 for 1.
Yusuf and Bhatt complemented each other well. While Bhatt got appreciable turn, Yusuf got the ball to skid and used his height to good effect to generate bounce.
The spinners reaped the rewards but the initial tough work was done by the pace duo of Sagar Mangalorkar and Murtuja Vahora. After a persistent drizzle delayed the start by nearly two hours, the pacers utilised the helpful conditions “ overcast skies and a two-paced pitch with variable bounce “ to put the hosts under pressure.
Much of the focus ahead of the match was on Abhinav Mukund, the Tamil Nadu captain playing his 100th first-class game. The milestone match, though, started on a wrong note for the left-hand batsman when he missed a sharp inswinger from Mangalorkar and found his stumps disturbed for nought.
The start could have been even worse had Yusuf held on to a fairly straightforward catch at second slip when Bharath Shankar edged Vahora on nine, but despite the drop, Baroda took control with some accurate bowling.
Mangalorkar and Vahora conceded just 16 runs between them in the first 15 overs and B Aparajith in particular struggled to get going, taking 23 balls to get off the mark. But once the pacers were taken off the attack, Aparajith pounced on the opportunity and scored some quick runs against the spinners with attractive strokes.
He was particularly harsh on Swapnil Singh, slog-sweeping the left-arm spinner for three fours and a six through deep mid-wicket. The second-wicket partnership crossed 60 with Bharath remaining firm at the other end, but just when it seemed like the pair would give Tamil Nadu a solid foundation, a double-wicket over from Bhatt turned the tide completely.
Bharath first fell after working hard for his 115-ball 28 when he was bowled by a quicker ball in the 33rd over. Three balls later, Dinesh Karthik paid the price for playing a rash shot too early when he was bowled around his legs after missing a sweep.
B Indrajith, the vice-captain, looked to be positive but his innings was cut short by a brute from Yusuf that bounced abruptly from a good length and lobbed to short-leg. Aparajith, watching the few overs of madness helplessly from the other end, tried to remain aggressive but the approach consumed him when he drove away from the body and nicked the first ball of Vahora’s second spell to fall six short of his half-century.
By now, Tamil Nadu had lost half their side, collapsing from 66 for 1 to 95 for 5. With three debutants “ J Kousik, L Vignesh and DT Chandrasekar “ in the lower order, the floodgates were truly open. R Prasanna, a familiar face in such situations for Tamil Nadu, battled hard even while the spinners ran through the tail, before being the last man out for 21.
