Ranji Trophy 2023-24: Unbeaten Hyderabad favourite in the Plate Group Final over Meghalaya

Hyderabad made it to the final with an innings win against Nagaland while Meghalaya scored an outright win over Mizoram in the semifinals.

Hyderabad assistant coach T. Pavan Kumar, head coach D.B. Ravi Teja, off-spinner Abhishek Murugan and left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan at the training session on the eve of the Ranji Trophy Plate Group final | Photo Credit: V. V. Subrahmanyam

Two-time champions, Hyderabad, should look to finish off the campaign in style when it takes on Meghalaya in the final of the Ranji Trophy Plate Group at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Saturday.

Hyderabad made it to the final with an innings win against Nagaland while Meghalaya scored an outright win over Mizoram in the semifinals.

For a team which was unbeaten so far, Hyderabad should be the clear favourites unless Meghalaya pulls off a special performance.

With the top-order including openers Tanmay Agarwal (764), G. Rahul Singh (617), K. Rohit Rayudu (332) and captain Tilak Varma (304) coming good consistently, the home team should be equal to the challenge of either batting first or second on a pitch which is expected to spin from the second day.

With even the lower-order like Nitesh Reddy, who hit a century, wicketkeeper-batter Pragnay Reddy, who has been really impressive behind the wickets, chipping in with useful contributions, batting was not a concern this season against bowling attacks which apparently didn’t really post any serious test.

In bowling, left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan leads the pack with 46 wickets from six games (the highest wicket-taker in the Plate Group itself this season) always rising to the expectations every time the captain looked to him. With his ability to spin consistently right across the bat with a teasing line and length, Tanay has been the biggest threat for all the teams despite occasionally conceding free boundaries after striking early.

With pacers T. Ravi Teja and Karthikeya Kak getting the early breakthroughs, it had been a relatively easy job for the spinners like Tanay and offie Saaketh to take charge.

On the other hand, if Meghalaya were to make it a real contest a lot depends on all-rounders captain Kishan Lyngdoh, vice-captain Akash Choudhary, Jaskiraj Singh Sachdeva and Ram Gurung in batting coming good.

For a team which is packed with all-rounders, it those who make it to the playing eleven play to their potential, it should be a good contest  if only Meghalaya bowlers Kishan, Sanvert Kurkalang, Larry Sangma, Swarajeet Das and Dipu Sangma strike it rich.

With the two teams already making it to the Elite Group next season, the focus is more on who will finish off the campaign clinching the Plate Group honours.