Andhra’s Ricky Bhui was struck on the head on the first day, didn’t take the field the next day, and notched up a century on the third in the Ranji Trophy group B fixture against Bengal at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
It took Bhui 233 balls to reach his 15th First-Class hundred - even though he seemingly wasn’t aware of his milestone - as Andhra came 70 runs closer to Bengal’s 409.
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Despite having a reputation of an aggressive batter, Bhui played according to the situation. He added 87 runs in 207 balls with Hanuma Vihari, then added 71 runs in 156 balls with Nithish Kumar Reddy, before partnering up with Shoaib Khan for the rest of the day, adding 61 runs in 141 balls.
There wasn’t much for the Bengal bowlers to enjoy. They began the day on a flat track and a 48-over-old ball. Vihari and Bhui were solid with their defence. With 290 runs remaining to erase the deficit, both Andhra batters avoided unnecessary risks.
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Bengal took the second new ball and struck immediately as Vihari got an edge off Akash Deep right at the stroke of Lunch. Ishan Porel then removed Ashwin Hebbar for a duck, leaving Andhra in a spot of bother at 207 for five.
Bhui and Nithish then combined to not let Bengal take control of the situation. With the new ball deteriorating, the bowlers once again were left to play the waiting game, which ended right after Tea when Nithish cut straight to the point fielder.
But Shoaib and Bhui didn’t let Bengal sniff a comeback. Shoaib took 30 balls to score his first run but never looked under threat. The duo batted till the end of the day.
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