Ranji Trophy: Andhra drub defending champions Vidarbha

Andhra defeated defending champions Vidarbha by eight wickets in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group match at Anantapur. SK Rasheed’s unbeaten 132 and Ricky Bhui’s 64 guided the chase as Andhra moved to the top of Elite Group A with 28 points

Hyderabad: Andhra recorded an emphatic eight-wicket win against defending champions Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group match at Anantapur on Sunday.

Resuming at the overnight score of 93 for one and chasing 259 for a win, Andhra owed its impressive performance to No 3 SK Rasheed, who cracked a brilliant unbeaten 132 (144b, 20×4), his third century this season, and captain Ricky Bhui (64 n.o., 92b, 7×4, 2×6).

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The other main contribution came from India wicketkeeper-batter K Srikar Bharat (43, 89b, 5×4).

Andhra now topped Elite Group A with 28 points from six games, while Jammu and Kashmir and Vidarbha have 25 points each from the same number of matches.

The scores: Vidarbha 295 in 89 overs (YV Rathod 115, KSN Raju 5/63, Sai Teja 3/46) & 191 in 55 overs (YV Rathod 56, Mokhade 51) lost to Andhra 228 in 65 overs (Abhishek Reddy 73, Saurab Kumar 62, AT Thakre 2/33, Bhute 2/71) & 259/2 in 56 overs (K Srikar Bharat 43, SK Rasheed 132, Ricky Bhui 64 n.o.).