Ranji Trophy: Struggling Hyderabad face Delhi in final tie

Hosts, with just one point from six games, are all but set for relegation to plate group

Hyderabad: After six rounds of Ranji Trophy matches so far, Hyderabad are the only team to have one point in their point’s column in the elite group. The bottom-placed team will host Delhi in their final Group B encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal from Tuesday.

In all likelihood, Hyderabad are set to be relegated to the plate division. While the performances were disheartening to an ardent cricket fan of the city cricket, the management is toying with team combinations every match. Hyderabad is the only team to try out 26 different players in the season. In a first, a total of 11 players have made their debut in six matches in this season, exposing the politics and corruption in the Hyderabad Cricket Association.

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When it comes to the on-field performance, they have lost their previous five matches. The lone point against Tamil Nadu was a courtesy to bad light. Delhi are sitting two runs above Hyderabad with 11 points and are coming on the back of a morale-boosting eight-wicket victory over Mumbai while Hyderabad lost their previous match to Maharashtra inside three days.

For Hyderabad, only Tanmay Agarwal, K Rohit Rayudu and T Ravi Teja have played all the matches. Tanmay, with 528 runs, is the leading run-scorer for Hyderabad with two centuries under his belt. Rohit Rayudu amassed 390 runs. In the bowling department, debutant Kartikeya Kak has taken 23 wickets that included a seven-wicket haul in the previous match.

For the visitors, opener Dhruv Shorey is in ominous form collecting 806 runs, with three centuries. He also hit an unbeaten 252 in the season. However, their captain Yash Dull is going through a lean patch with 189 runs.

The bottom two teams from the Elite Group will be relegated to plate division and currently Hyderabad, along with Nagaland, who have two points are set for a demotion. Unless Hyderabad record an outright victory, coupled with losses to Nagaland (2 points) and Puducherry (6 points), the hosts are set to be demoted. However, given the form of the team, Hyderabad’s victory looks a distant dream.