Ranji Trophy: Ravi Kiran's 4-for sets up Hyderabad's 10-wicket win

A splendid spell of fast bowling by the lanky Ravi Kiran, who cleaned up the top-order, literally, with a three-wicket burst in the first half-an-hour, was the decisive factor as Hyderabad notched up an emphatic, 10-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy Group-B match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Saturday.

Ravi Kiran dismissed captain Prashant Chopra, wicketkeeper-batsman Ankush Bains and Nikhil Gangta - all beaten by sheer pace and late movement. A spell from which Himachal never really recovered.

As it happened

At the other end, pacer Mohammad Mudassir came up with another beauty to baffle opener Priyanshu Khanduri to leave Himachal in dire straits at 42 for four in 14.3 overs.

Pacer Ravi Teja also bowled well but was unlucky. First, his joy of earning an lbw verdict against Khanduri turned sour when the third umpire ruled it a no-ball in the ninth over. Later, he had the misfortune of seeing Rishi Dhawan bowled all ends up of another no-ball at 49 for four!

The stage was set for the left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan and he didn’t disappoint - bowling another impressive spell on a pitch which was never a turner even on the final day to pick up a three-wicket haul.

Chasing a modest target, openers Tanmay Agarwal and captain P. Akshath Reddy stayed unbeaten to reach the target without losing any wicket to pick the bonus point too.

Hyderabad has 12 points now from four games while, Himachal two from three matches.