Himateja century puts Hyderabad in command against Andhra at ACA Stadium
K. Himateja scored his third first-class century for Hyderabad against Andhra at the ACA Stadium in Mulapadu on Tuesday in the Ranji Trophy, putting Hyderabad in control and setting Andhra a target of 398 to win. At stumps Andhra were 7 for 2 in their second innings, requiring 391 runs for victory.
Himateja, who had been singled out by Tillakaratne Dilshan for his technique and talent, answered with a composed knock after Andhra produced early breakthroughs in the morning session. T. Vijay removed Tanmay Agarwal, who returned one run short of a half-century, and Andhra’s pace attack further troubled Hyderabad, with Pragnay Reddy falling to give K. Sai Teja his third scalp and Rahul Radesh then undone by a sharp stop and return from Hemanth Reddy at mid-off.
Hyderabad steadied through a 99-run partnership for the middle order as Himateja and Ruthik Yadav added a 198-ball stand that arrested the wobble; Himateja reached his fifty shortly after lunch. Ruthik was dismissed soon after Hyderabad crossed the 200 mark when Ricky Bhui held a sharp slip catch to break the partnership.
There were unusual interruptions during the second innings: Andhra resumed with 12 men on the field after drinks and a dog later ran a full lap across the outfield before leaving the ground. Himateja required 192 deliveries to reach his century while Tanay Thyagarajann, who supported him at the other end, moved on to a half-century in 64 balls; Hyderabad declared on 306 for seven.
Asked to chase 398, Andhra began poorly as Aniketh Reddy removed Abhishek Reddy with Mohammed Siraj taking a reflex catch at cover, and Shaik Rasheed fell to Aniketh’s next delivery. Light faded before the session could finish and stumps were drawn with Andhra short of the target and facing a steep task.
The scores, as published: Hyderabad — 1st innings: 275. Andhra — 1st innings: Hemanth Reddy st. Pragnay b Tanay 10, Abhishek Reddy b Siraj 5, Shaik Rasheed lbw b Tanay 61, Ricky Bhui run out 28, S.V. Rahul lbw b Aniketh 27, Revanth Reddy b Tanay 12, K.V. Sasikanth lbw b Tanay 14, Saurabh Kumar b Tanay 1, T. Vijay (not out) 25, Lalith Mohan b Aniketh 0, K. Sai Teja run out 0; Extras (nb-1): 1; Total (in 63 overs): 184. Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-32, 3-91, 4-112, 5-128, 6-148, 7-149, 8-164, 9-165. Hyderabad bowling: Tanay 20-4-63-5, Aniketh 18-1-60-2, Siraj 11-2-31-1, Milind 7-1-13-0, Ruthik 7-0-17-0. Hyderabad — 2nd innings: Tanmay Agarwal b Vijay 49, Abhirath Reddy lbw b Sai Teja 23, Rahul Singh lbw b Sai Teja 2, K. Himateja (not out) 123, Pragnay Reddy c Hemanth b Sai Teja 5, Rahul Radesh c Hemanth b Sai Teja 6, Ruthik Yadav c Bhui b Vijay 31, C.V. Milind lbw b Sasikanth 4, Tanay Thyagarajann (not out) 53; Extras (b-6, lb-3, nb-1): 10; Total (for seven wkts. decl. in 95.3 overs): 306. Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-78, 3-78, 4-87, 5-101, 6-200, 7-213. Andhra bowling: Saurabh 21-3-71-0, Vijay 35-5-119-2, Lalith 7-0-22-0, Sai Teja 16.3-4-40-4, K.V. Sasikanth 16-4-45-1. Andhra — 2nd innings: Hemanth Reddy (batting) 3, Abhishek Reddy c Siraj b Aniketh 1, Shaik Rasheed c Tanmay b Aniketh 1, Ricky Bhui (batting) 2; Total (for two wkts. in four overs): 7. Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-4. Hyderabad bowling: Tanay 2-0-4-0, Aniketh 2-0-3-2.
At stumps Andhra were 7 for 2 in four overs, with Aniketh Reddy having taken both early wickets and Tanay Thyagarajann among the Hyderabad bowlers who had contributed to the early damage; the visitors will resume with Andhra needing 391 runs to win.
