Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Vihari, Tilak power Hyderabad to big win

Hyderabad: Test cricketer G Hanuma Vihari (57, 53b, 5×4, 1×6) and young Tilak Varma (61 not out, 29b, 3×4, 6×6) powered Hyderabad to their third successive win when they humbled Chandigarh by eight wickets in the Elite Group E fixture of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament at Sultanpur (Haryana) on Saturday. Asked to chase […]

Hyderabad: Test cricketer G Hanuma Vihari (57, 53b, 5×4, 1×6) and young Tilak Varma (61 not out, 29b, 3×4, 6×6) powered Hyderabad to their third successive win when they humbled Chandigarh by eight wickets in the Elite Group E fixture of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament at Sultanpur (Haryana) on Saturday.

Asked to chase 163 for a win, Hyderabad cruised home in 18.4 overs. Hyderabad play Delhi in their fourth match on Monday after a day’s rest on Sunday.

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The Hyderabad bowlers were tested to the full as opener Manan Vohra hit a brilliant 64-ball 106 not out (9×4, 5×6). Vohra fought a lonely battle. Medium-pacer T Ravi Teja, who returned after missing the previous match, was the pick of the bowlers for Hyderabad as he removed opener Saru Kanwar and Shivam Bhambri early in the Chandigarh innings.

But Vohra battled fluently to bring up his 50 off 34 balls. He then slammed his next 50 off 28 balls. Left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan, too, was impressive as he scalped the wicket of AK Kaushik in his tight spell. However, Friday’s hero CV Milind was punished by Chandigarh batsmen. The left-arm seamer leaked 49 runs from his four overs.

Skipper Tanmay Agarwal, who is the top run-getter for Hyderabad so far, and Vihari gave a perfect start as they shared 82 runs in 10.4 overs. Tanmay fell for 34 (26b, 5×4). Vihari was finally among the runs. He even got to his 50 off 44 balls before Jaskarandeep castled him for 57. It was left hander Varma, who then dazzled with a scintillating batting display to take Hyderabad home. In a stand of 47 runs with Rahul Buddhi, Varma’s contribution was 43 as he tore the Chandigarh attack with a big-hitting spree.

Chandigarh
M Vohra (not out) 106 (64b, 9×4, 5×6), S Kanwar ct Pragnay b Teja 13 (19b, 2×4), S Bhambri c & b Teja 6 (10b), AK Kaushik b Thyagarajan 15 (10b, 2×4), J Singh c Rahul b C V Milind 19 (13b, 2×6), Gurinder Singh b Siraj 1 (3b), Arjit Singh (not out) 1 (1b), Extras (w1) 1, Total (for 5 wkts in 20 overs) 162; Fall of wickets: 1-52, 2-71, 3-104, 4-142, 5-154; Total (for 5 wkts in 20 overs) 162; Bowling: Ravi Teja 4-0-19-2, Siraj 4-0-20-1, Milind 4-0-49-1, Tanay Thyagarajan 4-0-31-1, Vihari 2-0-24-0,Rohit Rayudu 1-0-10-0, Varma 1-0-9-0.

Hyderabad
T Agarwal Lbw Arpit Singh 34 (26b, 5×4), Vihari b Jaskarandeep 57 (53b, 5×4, 1×6), Tilak Varma (not out) 61 (29b, 3×4, 6×6), B Rahul (not out) 4 (4b), Extras (w3,lb4) 7, Total (for 2 wkts in 18.4 overs) 163; Fall of wickets: 1-82, 2-118; Bowling: Jagjit Singh Sandhu 3-0-25-0, Shreshth Nirmohi 3-0-32-0, Jaskarandeep Singh 3.4-0-39-1, Arpit Singh 4-0-17-1, Gurinder Singh 4-0-36-0, Lather 1-0-10-0.