Ranji Trophy 2024: Vihari, Lalith hold key as Andhra hopes to revive season against in-form Hyderabad

Andhra has had a forgetful season so far with just one point in four games while Hyderabad has eight points at the half-way stage of the red-ball season.

While Hanuma Vihari has scored two fifties in four games, spinner A. Lalith Mohan has claimed 21 wickets so far for Andhra. | Photo Credit: V V Subrahmanyam/ The Hindu

Hanuma Vihari and A. Lalith Mohan, two former Hyderabadis and now representing Andhra, might well be the key when their team takes on former champion Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here from Wednesday.

Vihari, who scored 250 runs in four games with two fifties, and left-arm spinner Lalith, who claimed 21 wickets in as many matches, are familiar with the conditions and can help Andhra, which has had a forgetful season so far with just one point to be at the bottom of the table, to hope for a turn-around at the half-way stage now.

Hyderabad on the other hand has eight points from four games with a win, two losses and a draw.

Led by India under-19 cricketer Shaik Rasheed, Andhra has clearly struggled to get the act together so far for different reasons, the most prominent being inconsistency.

The presence of India wicketkeeper-batter Srikar Bharat who is the lead scorer for Andhra this season with 314 runs with three fifties, should only help the team’s cause on a pitch which is not expected to be a nightmare though there is a possibility of spinners playing a key role in the latter half of the match.

Hyderaba coach Vineet Saxena with Tanay Thyagarajan and captain G. Rahul Singh on the eve of the Ranji Trophy match against Andhra in Hyderabad on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: V V Subrahmanyam/ The Hindu

With pacer K.V. Sasikanth in good form picking 16 wickets so far and Lalit chipping in with vital breakthroughs with spin, Andhra has variety in bowling for sure which can test the home team’s batting.

On the other hand, Hyderabad needs to put behind the disappointment of conceding the vital first innings lead against Rajasthan despite scoring 410 in the previous game.

Home team coach Vineet Saxena insists that the top-order has been briefed about the importance of converting good starts into big scores.

Left-arm pacer Chama Milind, the most consistent of the pacers this season, left-arm spin duo of Tanay Thyagarajan (third highest wicket-taker this season with 23 wickets) and G. Anikethreddy, will be bowling in tandem against what should be a determined Andhra batting line-up to make serious amends in this crucial game.

In batting, Himateja has been exceptional in his debut season scoring a century and three fifties so far with the seasoned campaigners Tanmay Agarwal and Rohit Rayudu contributing handsomely at the top. The biggest positive from the previous game has been the century by wicketkeeper Rahul Radesh.