Abhirath’s century guides Hyderabad to four-wicket victory

Abhirath Reddy scored an unbeaten 175 to lead Hyderabad to a thrilling four-wicket victory over Himachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match. Key partnerships with Rahul Radesh, K Himateja, and Tanay Thyagarajan helped chase 336 on the final day

HYDERABAD: The 29-year-old Abhirath Reddy couldn’t have timed his maiden Ranji century better, for it was largely responsible for Hyderabad pulling off what looked like an improbable win against Himachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match at Atal Behari Vajpayee Stadium in Amtar (Himachal Pradesh) on Tuesday.

Requiring 336 runs on the final day, Hyderabad, resuming at the overnight score of eight for no loss, lost its most consistent batter and opener Tanmay Agarwal (5) in the third over of the day.

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But then Abhirath and wicketkeeper-batter Rahul Radesh (66, 127b, 8×4) put on a 145-run stand for the second wicket, which effectively kept Hyderabad in the race.

Abhirath (175 n.o., 200b, 19×4, 3×6) playing his 12th first-class game with four fifties, and Radesh complemented each other perfectly before the latter stepped out only to be stumped off left-arm spinner Aryaman Dhaliwal to make the scoreline read 155 for two in 43.5 overs.

With Captain G Rahul Singh joining, Abhirath continued to bat with freedom, with emphasis on timing. The two put on 74 runs for the third wicket before Rahul Singh (24, 41b, 2×4) was dismissed by Aryaman in the 58th over to make it 229 for three with Abhirath on 130.

Then, Abhirath and K. Himateja (33, 25b, 3×4, 1×6) were involved in another crucial 53-run stand for the fourth wicket and later Tanay Thyagarajan chipped in with a very handy knock(29, 25b, 2×4) to push Hyderabad closer to the target.

Though Hyderabad lost quick wickets towards the end, Abhirath held one end up to eventually guide the team to a thrilling four-wicket victory.

With this win, Hyderabad has nine points from three games and will take on Rajasthan at home on November 8.

The scores: Himachal 318 in 97.3 overs & 303 in 70.2 overs lost to Hyderabad 278 in 75.2 overs & 347/6 in 75.3 overs (Abhirath Reddy 175 n.o., Rahul Radesh 66, K Himateja 33, Tanay Thyagarajan 29, Aryaman Dhaliwal 3/91)