Ranji Trophy: Hyderabad aim to build on momentum at home against Rajasthan

Riding high after a four-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh, Hyderabad will face Rajasthan in a Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match at Uppal. M Abhirath Reddy’s century and Chama Milind’s all-round form boost Hyderabad’s hopes for another strong outing

Hyderabad: A confident Hyderabad, fresh from its four-wicket win against Himachal Pradesh in Himachal, will take on Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Uppal, here on Friday.

Powered by a brilliant unbeaten century by M Abhirath Reddy, Hyderabad pulled off a major surprise and will look for a repeat all-round performance against Rajasthan in familiar home conditions, with the pitch expected to be on the drier side and take turn on the third and fourth days. The home team is banking on the left-arm spin duo of Tanay Thyagarajan and G Anikethreddy to make an impact.

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One of the notable performances from that impressive win against Himachal was the all-round show by left-arm pacer Chama Milind, who led a brilliant rearguard action with the bat in the second innings after missing a century by two runs in the first innings, helping reduce the deficit significantly.

Hyderabad has 10 points from three games with one win and two draws, while Rajasthan has nine points from three games with one win, one loss and a draw.

For Rajasthan, which put up a creditable show by grabbing the first-innings lead against Mumbai, Deepak Hooda (411 runs) with a double century this season, captain Mahipal Lomror and Kartik Sharma, who scored 139 against Mumbai, hold the key in batting. The left-arm pace duo of Aniket Choudhary and Akash Singh, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar and left-arm spinner K Ajay Singh can pose a few questions to the home team.

Meanwhile, the HCA senior selection panel has named Rahul Singh as captain to lead the team in the next two matches (against Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir), with Chama Milind as his deputy.

Hyderabad team: Rahul Singh (captain), C V Milind (vice-captain), Tanmay Agarwal, M Abhirath Reddy, K Himateja, Varun Goud, Tanay Thyagarajan, Rohit Rayudu, Rahul Radesh (wk), Punnaiah, Anikethreddy, Rakshann Readdi, Kartikeya Kak, P Nitish Reddy, Ali Kachi Diamond (wk).

Stand-byes: Mikhil Jaiswal, Sai Pragnay Reddy, Ajay Dev Goud, Niets Kanala, Chandan Sahani.