Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Hyderabad rides on Tanmay ton to pull ahead of Vidarbha

Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Hyderabad rides on Tanmay ton to pull ahead of Vidarbha

A composed century from opener Tanmay Agarwal (136, 232b, 13×4, 1×6) helped Hyderabad take control of the Ranji Trophy Group B encounter against Vidarbha at the VCA Stadium here on Friday. The southpaw recorded his fourth hundred this season, crossing the 900-run mark in the process, to help the side record a 136-run lead at the end of the first innings.

Vidarbha openers Atharva Taide and Dhruv Shorey held the fort for over an hour before Rakshann Readdi beat the latter’s defence fifteen minutes before the close of play. The wicket meant the repreive handed to Shorey, when K. Himateja dropped a tough catch of the same batter in the cordon, did not prove costly. Shorey had suffered an injury scare after copping one on the arm but managed to continue after some medical intervention before seeing his stumps knocked back.

Nightwatchman Aditya Thakare’s attempt to bat out the last few balls failed as he was cleaned up by Mohammed Siraj to leave the home team 80 runs behind the visitor with eight wickets in the bag heading into day three.

Resuming the innings on the second day, trailing Vidarbha by 100 runs, with two batters already in the hut, Tanmay took his time to get going despite the pitch being relatively harmless. A ball change, due to disfigurement, brought about the 29-year-old’s first boundary after 22 overs in the day – a reverse sweep through third man.

Himateja, who did the bulk of the scoring in the 49-run partnership, fell to an inspired field change, pushing a ball from off-spinner Akshay Wakhare straight to backward short leg. Tanmay played second fiddle in most of the partnerships with the middle order, looking to play the long game. The continuous barrage of left-handed batters also ensured that the competition’s leading wicket-taker, left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, was kept out of the attack for most of the day.

Varun Goud rotated the strike with ease during his 24-run sojourn before being bowled through the gate by the other left-armer, Parth Rekhade. The next man in, Rahul Buddhi, showcased a few unconventional shots, including a swat through wide mid-on against a bouncer from Yash Thakur.

Tanmay completed his century off 164 balls, leaping up in the air and letting out an upward punch in celebration. Rahul and Tanmay combined for 61 runs in just 81 balls, the first fifty-run stand of the innings. A well-executed short-ball ploy from Aditya Thakare saw the back of Rahul, who pulled straight to deep square leg, one ball after nearly holing out to the short-leg fielder.

Tanay Thyagarajan and skipper C.V. Milind dealt in boundaries during their cameos. While Tanay clubbed the spinners down the ground, Milind showcased his prowess through the off-side, hitting eight fours through classical drives. Once Thakur breached Tanmay’s defence with a length ball that brushed the bails, the innings stumbled to a close, with Thakur and the sparsely-bowled Dubey cleaning up the last three wickets right after tea.