Hyderabad’s batters put on a strong performance on the opening day of the Buchi Babu final, amassing 288 runs for the loss of six wickets against Chhattisgarh at the NPR College Ground.
Openers M. Abhirath Reddy and Tanmay Agarwal provided a solid start, stitching together a 67-run partnership. Abhirath, in particular, displayed an aggressive approach, employing sweep shots to find the boundary five times.
However, Chhattisgarh’s left-arm spinner Gagandeep Singh broke the partnership, trapping Tanmay in front. Off-spinner Shashank Tiwari then removed skipper Rahul Singh, who chipped one to short-midwicket.
Abhirath and Rohit Rayudu steadied the innings with an 87-run alliance. Abhirath reached his half-century and continued to find boundaries, including a maximum over long-on. However, he fell 15 runs short of a century, pulling a half-tracker to square-leg.
Chhattisgarh gained momentum with two more wickets, reducing Hyderabad to 198 for five. But Rohit and Rahul Ridesh (48) kept the spinners at bay, adding 79 runs for the sixth wicket before Ridesh was dismissed two overs before stumps.
