Hyderabad pull off a thrilling one-wicket win against Chhattisgarh

Hyderabad: Hyderabad survived anxious moments before pulling off a thrilling one-wicket win against Chhattisgarh after an extended tea break on the final day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match at Gymkhana Ground here on Thursday.

This was Hyderabad’s third outright win in four games this season and now tops Group B with 20 points while Chhattisgarh has seven points from the same number of matches.

Chasing 259 for win, the home team was staring at a probable defeat at 220 for nine when the tall pacer Rakshann Readdi joined the fighting Anikethreddy. As in the first innings, Anikethreddy once again demonstrated came to Hyderabad’s rescue with the bat, raising the bar under pressure.

He countered the left-arm spin duo of Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Ajay Mandal and the off-spin of India star Jayant Yadav with great ease. Importantly, the No 10 batter showed his big-hitting prowess too with two huge sixes off Ajay.

To Hyderabad’s delight, the normally big-hitting CTL Rakshann Readdi showed admirable temperament in rotating the strike before finishing off the match in style – with a huge six over long-on off Jayant Yadav to the delight of his teammates.

Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 13 for two, Hyderabad was back in the game thanks to a sensible 87-run stand for the third wicket between opener Abhirath Reddy (68,110b, 8×4) and Rahul Radesh (39, 79, 2×4, 1×6).

However, Rahul and the southpaw K Himateja (8),who was utterly dejected at being given out caught behind off Jadeja, departed in quick succession to make it 100 for four.

Later, Abhirath and Pragnay Reddy (1) were alao dismissed within the space of two overs (142/6). But, a gritty half-century by Varun Goud (55, 95b, 3×4) and his crucial 40-run stand with captain Chama Milind (22, 38b, 2×4, 1×6) for the seventh wicket helped Hyderabad stay in the hunt before it lost two more quick wickets.

However, Anikethreddy and Rakshann defied the Chhattisgarh bowling on a pitch which surprisingly looked far more easier to bat than on the third day. The Hyderabad batters were also aided by poor field placements.

The scores: Chhattisgarh 284 in 90.1 overs & 254 in 68.4 overs lost to Hyderabad 280 in 86.1 overs & 259/9 in 79.4 overs (Abhirath Reddy 68, Rahul Rdesh 39, A.Varun Goud 55, Anikethreddy 39 not out, Rakshann Readdi 15 not out, Dev Aditya Singh 3/28, D. Jadeja 2/87, Jayant Yadav 2/66, Ajay Mandal 2/74).