Hyderabad has one hand on the Buchi Babu tournament trophy after taking the crucial first-innings lead against Chhattisgarh and setting a target of 518 for the latter on the penultimate day of the summit clash here at the NPR College ground on Tuesday.
Resuming at 145 for eight, Chhattisgarh was bowled out for 181. Gagandeep Singh (59) top-scored with a valiant half-century, but his side conceded a 236-run lead.
The southern team’s batters then bullied the Chhattisgarh bowlers into submission in the second innings, led by skipper Rahul Singh (68, 87b, 8×4, 2×6), who slammed a breezy half-century to take his side to 111 for one at lunch.
The cushion of a huge lead allowed the batters to play freely, and Rahul looked sublime taking on the bowlers. He cut, went inside out, and even reverse-swept the spinners a few times to find the boundaries regularly. The skipper and opener, M. Abhirath Reddy (39), came together for a 95-run stand for the second wicket off 101 balls.
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However, after tea, Jeevesh Butte (six for 56) ran through the Hyderabad line-up, taking four wickets in quick time to complete his five-for. The off-spinner first removed Rohit, caught behind and then accounted for Hima Teja, top-edging a sweep to the wicketkeeper. In pursuit of quick runs, the Hyderabad middle-order batters holed out in the deep before the side was bowled out for 281 at the stroke of stumps.
Chhattisgarh needs a miracle from its batters on the final day to chase down the huge target and pry the cup out of Hyderabad’s hands.
The scores
Hyderabad 417 & 281 in 70.2 overs (Rahul Singh 68, Rahul Radesh 41, Jeevesh Bhutte 6/56) vs Chhattisgarh 181 in 70.2 overs (Gagandeep Singh 59 n.o., Aniket Reddy 4/56).
