Pondicherry, forced to follow on fought back remarkably well in the second essay before two late blows by left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan revived Hyderabad’s hopes of an outright win on the penultimate day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Monday.
Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 24 for two in reply to Hyderabad’s 536 for eight declared, Pondicherry folded up for 153 thanks to an excellent bowling performance by left-arm spinner G. Anikethreddy (six for 56), his second, five-wicket haul this season.
That Pondicherry innings didn’t see even one half-century stand was a poor reflection of the insipid batting in the face of accurate, if not unplayable bowling on a pitch which surprisingly was much easier to bat today.
Forced to follow-on, Pondicherry openers southpaw V. Ganga Sridhar (61 batting, 139b, 6x4) and Ajay Rohera (69, 97b, 9x4) put on 122 runs for the first wicket in 32.4 overs to keep the team in the game.
The two batted with the desired discipline and wonderful stroke selection.
Just when it looked like the duo would see the day through for Pondicherry, left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan first removed the well-set Rohera, luring him out and bowling one marginally wide to see wicketkeeper Rahul Radesh stump him.
Rohera stumped by Radesh off left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarjan in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match in Hyderabad on Monday. | Photo Credit: V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
Radesh, who was below par till then, flooring a regulation catch of the same batter when Rohera was on one in the second over had his moment of redemption.
Soon, Thyagarajan forced the clean-hitting Aman Khan, visibly rattled by the continuous sledging of substitute fielder Nitesh, to step out to loft one over extra cover only to see Chama Milind bring off a brilliant catch, diving forward to the delight of his teammates.
At the close of play, Pondicherry scored a far more respectable 171 for two but still has a long way to go to save the match.
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