A good final over by C.V. Milind helped Hyderabad pull up a four-run win over newcomer Chhattisgarh in a Group D league match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Jadavpur University Second Campus ground on Wednesday.
With the bowlers dictating terms, the match turned out to be a low scoring affair where Hyderabad finished successfully for holding its nerve in the end.
Put in to bat by Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad suffered a batting collapse and was all out for 197 runs in 47 overs. Making the chase, Chhattisgarh was hauled out of a crisis by Ashutosh Singh’s defiant batting, but the effort fell short in the final over, where he could not pick up the required eight runs for a win. Bowling the final over, left-arm pacer Milind showed the right discipline in sticking to a tight line that got Ashutosh, who was batting on 65, caught in the deep midwicket. The last batting pair of Pankaj Rao and Subham Thakur did not seem to have the wherewithal to collect the required runs allowing Hyderabad to cruise home by four runs.
Akshdeep ton guides UP to victory
Earlier, B. Sandeep anchored a Hyderabad turnaround with an unbeaten 70. The generally strong top order of Hyderabad struggled after a good start as some fine fielding by Chhattisgarh initiated a collapse in the 11th over. Tanmay Agarwal was the first to go after sharing a 52-run opening partnership with Akshath Reddy, just when things appeared to be going Hyderabad’s way. Agarwal (24) felled by a fine fielding effort from Amandeep Khare before Reddy was picked up by left-arm spinner Subham Thakur, who later claimed three more wickets making his One-Day debut for Chhattisgarh.
Maharashtra drubs TN to remain unbeaten
Another two run-outs—that of Sumanth Kolla (26) and captain S. Badrinath (6)—hurled Hyderabad into a crisis with the score reading 126 for four. Two more quick wickets in a span of just one run saw the end of Hyderabad middle order with the score at 127 for six. Sandeep, the left-hander who was promoted up the order, offered the only resistance with an unbeaten 70 (99b, 5x4) to see Hyderabad reach a respectable total.
Ashutosh Singh’s 65 (98b, 2x4) almost clinched the issue for Chhattisgarh but the all-rounder, who had picked up two Hyderabad wickets with off-spin bowling, ran out of partners in the end. This was Hyderabad’s third straight win, which kept the team in search of the quarterfinal berth ahead of the two crucial matches against Jharkhand and Karnataka, coming up in the next two rounds.
Comments
SHARE