Hyderabad faces the uphill task of saving the match after being reduced to 45 for three against Andhra at close of play on the third day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group match at CSR Sarma College Ground here on Monday.
Earlier, Andhra, resuming at the overnight score of 237 for one in reply to Hyderabad first innings score of 225, declared the innings at 489 for eight after batting for 59 overs on Monday and taking a massive first innings lead of 264 runs.
This was largely possible because of a 161-run stand for the fifth wicket between Ricky Bhui (69, 132b) and Karan Shinde (94, 140b).
This was a crucial stand as it came after left-arm pacer Chama Milind struck this morning with two quick wickets – dismissing the well-set Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari (55, 113b) and cleaning up wicketkeeper-batsman Srikar Bharat (5) cheaply.
Ranji Trophy, Day 3: as it happened
But, to the dismay of Hyderabad camp, Bhui and Shinde showed the right application during their partnership with sensible stroke selection.
Shinde was unlucky to miss a century when he was bowled by left-arm spinner Mehdi Hassan.
Then, K.V. Sasikanth chipped in with a useful contribution to increase the lead for Andhra.
And, when Hyderabad batted second time, it was a familiar story of losing early wickets with pacer P. Vijay Kumar picking all three wickets to fall in the final session.
First to go was opener Akshath Reddy (4) in the third over and Vijay removed J. Mallikarjun (2) and Himalay Agarwal (0) to see Hyderabad in dire straits at 22 for three in seven overs.
Captain Tanmay Agarwal and Jaweed Ali were at the crease when stumps were drawn for the day.
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