Hyderabad bowled out for 275 after 109-run opening stand against Andhra

Hyderabad: Hyderabad, which made an impressive start with openers Tanmay Agarwal (42, 75b, 4×4) and Abhirath Reddy (67, 108b, 8×4, 1×6) putting on 109 runs, faltered later to be restricted to 275 against Andhra on the opening day of their four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match at Mulapadu, near Vijayawada, on Sunday.

The Hyderabad openers appeared to have justified the decision to bat first. However, once Tanmay was dismissed in the 29th over and Abhirath in the 35th, both by left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar, the innings lost direction. Rahul Singh (20) and K Himateja (10) were then dismissed in quick succession by off-spinner Tripurana Vijay and left-arm spinner A Lalith Mohan, respectively, leaving Hyderabad struggling at 141 for four in the 46th over.

Later, a 53-run stand between Pragnay Reddy (31, 67b, 3×4, 1×6) and Rahul Radesh (58 not out, 105b, 5×4, 1×6) helped the innings regain momentum.

However, Vijay struck again, taking three more wickets to ensure that Hyderabad’s lower order had little freedom to score freely.

Hyderabad lost their last five wickets for just 76 runs as Andhra’s spinners kept the batters in check.

The spin trio of Lalith Mohan, Vijay and Saurabh Kumar proved too good for Hyderabad.

At close of play, Andhra reached nine without loss in two overs to cap an immensely satisfying day.

Scores: Hyderabad 275 in 86 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 42, Abhirath Reddy 67, Pragnay Reddy 31, Rahul Radesh 58; Lalith Mohan 3/78, Tripurana Vijay 4/90, Saurabh Kumar 3/75) vs Andhra 9/0 in 2 overs.