Spinning success: Tanay completed his sixth five-wicket haul and seventh overall and also crossed the 50-wicket mark this season.
| Photo Credit: V.V. Subrahmanyam
A sparkling 64 (48b, 9×4, 3×6) by opener Raj Biswa set the tone for what turned out to be Meghalaya’s day as it posted a challenging 304, and then struck two quick blows to leave Hyderabad at 25 for two at close, on the first day of the Ranji Trophy Plate Group final at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Saturday.
Biswa justified his captain Kishan Lyngdoh’s decision to bat first, putting on 81 in 13.2 overs. The former made the home team bowling look very ordinary. The way he square-drove to the fence and pulled pacer Kartikeya Kak over the line was a treat.
Classy
Biswa showed his class against left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan too, lofting him to the fence and over the line in one over.
Just when Biswa was threatening come up with a big score, Tanay trapped him in front with one that spun back into the batter. His dismissal led to a mini collapse as Meghalaya lost five more wickets at regular intervals to be reduced to 158 for six in 45th over.
If Hyderabad entertained any hopes of cleaning up the lower-order, it was in for a surprise.
A seventh-wicket stand of 87 between Jaskirat Singh (46, 72b, 4×4) and Dippu Sangma (42, 99b, 6×4,1×6), and later Akash Kumar (50 n.o., 57b, 4×4, 4×6) helped Meghalaya post what was also the highest total against the home team this season.
Tanay, though expensive, completed his sixth five-wicket haul and seventh overall and in the process crossed the 50-wicket mark this season. He was given good support by part-time off-spinners Rohit Rayudu and captain Tilak Varma.
When Hyderabad batted, pacer Chengkam Sangma trapped Tanmay Agarwal in front and cleaned up Rohit Rayudu to leave the home in a spot of bother at 25 for two at close.
Delay in clearance
Meanwhile, Under-19 World Cupper Abhishek Murugan did not make his debut as the HCA couldn’t get clearance from the BCCI on time.
This paved the way for left-arm spinner Rishab Baslas to play his first Ranji Trophy game.
The scores:
Meghalaya — 1st innings: R.R. Biswa lbw Tanay 64, Bonchang Sangma lbw b Rohit Rayudu 18, Swarajeet Das c & b Tilak 31, Tiwari c & b Tanay 11, Kishan Lyngdoh b Tanay 29, Jaskiraj Singh lbw b Tanay 46, Ram Gurung c Pragnay b Rishab 1, Dippu Sangma lbw b Rohit Rayudu 42, Akash Kumar (not out) 50, Aryan lbw b Rohit Rayudu 0, Chengkam Sangma lbw b Tanay 4, Extras (b-7, lb-1): 8; Total (in 83 overs): 304.
Fall of wickets: 1-81, 2-83, 3-106, 4-150, 5-156, 6-158, 7-245, 8-269, 9-279.
Hyderabad bowling: Ravi Teja 7-1-33-0, Kartikeya 7-0-38-0, Tanay 34-10-103-5, Rohit Rayudu 11-0-33-3, Rishab 15-4-51-1, Tilak 7-0-33-1, Nitesh Reddy 2-0-5-0.
Hyderabad — 1st innings: Tanmay Agarwal lbw b Chengkam 1, G. Rahul Singh (batting) 9, K. Rohit Rayudu b Chengkam 0, Tilak Varma (batting) 10; Extras (lb-4, nb-1): 5; Total (for two wkts. in five overs): 25.
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-13.
Meghalaya bowling: Chengkam 3-1-9-2, Akash 1-0-7-0, Dippu 1-0-5-0.