Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Anikethreddy five-for helps Hyderabad enforce follow-on against Himachal Pradesh on Day 3
Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Anikethreddy five-for helps Hyderabad enforce follow-on against Himachal Pradesh on Day 3
Left-arm spinner G. Anikethreddy’s impressive spell (five for 72) helped Hyderabad enforce the follow-on against Himachal Pradesh on the third day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group B league match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Saturday.
Resuming, at the overnight score of 33 for one in reply to the home team’s 565, Himachal was bowled out for 275, five minutes before scheduled close of play.
In the five overs possible, Himachal finished the day at 21 for no loss.
With the odd ball spinning and bouncing sharply at the pavilion end, Anikethreddy bowled to the field and stuck to a decent line and length consistently.
It was a story of the Himachal batters failing to convert 30s and 40s into big scores when it mattered most.
Left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan struck the first blow in the 15th over of the day when he forced Ankit Kalsi (31) to snick to slip fielder Tanmay Agarwal.
Soon, the well-set opener Shubham Arora (53, 132b, 7×4) was terribly disappointed after given out lbw to Anikethreddy and later Apporav Walia (37, 94, 4×4) stepped out to loft only to be stumped off Anikethreddy to make it 144 for four.
It was poor shot selection which saw Himachal lose wickets at regular intervals. Captain Rishi Dhawan was unhappy to be given lbw to Thyagarajan.
Anikethreddy struck a double blow to dismiss well-set Akash Vashist (46, 123b, 4×4) and Mukul Negi (0) in the 78th over. Soon, part-time leg-spinner Varun Goud got rid off Mayank Dagar (0) to make it 218 for eight.
Then, it was a splendid assault by Innesh Mahajan (68 not out, 79b, 7×4, 4×6) who displayed some extravagant strokes. Three sixes off Anikethreddy, who was till then the dominant bowler, and one into the stands over mid-wicket off pacer Rakshan Readdi were sheer class.
However, in a bid to rotate strike, Mahajan saw No. 11 Divesh Sharma run out to signal the end of the innings.
