Vihari slams triple ton
Andhra skipper tonks an unbeaten 302 against Odisha in Ranji Trophy match
Hyderabad, Oct. 25: Andhra captain G. Hanuma Vihari’s pyrotechnics proved to be huge as he hammered a triple ton along with Ricky Bhui who slammed a ton as Andhra declared at 584 for five in the Ranji Trophy Day-2 of the Group ‘C’ match against Odisha being played at Vizianagaram.
Jittery Odisha bowlers bowed down before Vihari belligerent innings as they couldn’t trap him. Vihari’s unbeaten 302 came in 456 balls which includes 29 boundaries and two maximums.
The in-form captain grew in confidence in company of Bhui as he also contributed a century in 144 balls with nine times ball racing to the boundary and five maximums. Vihari and Bhui’s stand of 208 runs took a toll on Odisha bowlers.
Pradhan picked two wickets for Odisha while Poddar, Dhiraj Singh and Mohanty took a wicket apiece.
In reply Odisha started their first innings after Andhra declared a long innings at 584/4. S.P. Pattnaik and Natraj Behra came in as openers but in the fourth over Natraj had to return back to the pavilion as Bhatt trapped him with a leg before. At stumps Odisha were 32/1 in 12 overs.
Meanwhile in another Group ‘C’ match, B. Indrajith scored an unbeaten ton to lead Tamil Nadu’s fightback as the team finished Day Two at 239 for 5 in response to Mumbai’s 374 in a Ranji Trophy Group ‘C’ match at Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy.
Indrajith (105 batting) and young all-rounder M S Washington Sundar (69) rescued Tamil Nadu from a rather precarious 69 for 4 with a partnership of 157 runs.
Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 314 for 7,the home side added 60 to its total with the Akash Parkar (33 not out) and Aditya S. Dhumal (13) putting on 35 crucial runs for the 10th wicket.
Meanwhile in Shimoga, leg-break bowler Shreyas Gopal registered his best first-class figures to help Karnataka bundle out Hyderabad for 136 and take the all-important first innings lead in a Group ‘A’ match.
Gopal registered impressive figures of 5/17 while off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham picked up three wickets for 56 as Karnataka bowled out Hyderabad in 64.4 overs in reply to their first innings total of 183.