Overnight rains, ahead of the opening day of a four-day game, can be decisive, with the pitch damp and outfield slow. In these conditions, Hyderabad’s decision to bat first in the semifinal of the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament against Haryana backfired as the side was bundled out for 225 at the Guru Nanak College in Chennai on Sunday.

After bowling out the opposition in 80 overs, Haryana openers — Ashish Siwach and Lakshya Dalal — safely negated the last 30 minutes of the day, reaching 14.

For Hyderabad, 10 batters reached double figures as Varun Goud top-scored with 41. Continuing from where he left off four days ago (an unbeaten century vs Madhya Pradesh), Goud looked more assured than the others and played with better control.

Hyderabad’s call to bat may have stemmed from the hope that the sun would break through — and though it did briefly, the conditions remained testing, with uneven bounce troubling the batters throughout.

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While the pacers created the early pressure, it was the Haryana spinners — Amit Rana, Nikhil Kashyap, and Parth Vats — who caused the real damage. Amit finished with three for 52, while Kashyap and Vats took two wickets each.

Opener Aman Rao struck a six off the first ball of the match and followed it up with two fours — a lofted flick and a straight punch. But his lively 16 off 12 ended when he shouldered arms to a nip-backer from Sumit Kumar that clipped his off stump.

Haryana captain Himanshu Rana kept his bowlers on the attack with a short leg and other close-in catchers. Though chances rarely went their way, the persistent stump-line bowling alongside a fielder in the batter’s eyeline kept P. Nitish Reddy and Rahul Radesh quiet.

The pair looked to counter once the spinners came on, with Reddy quick to bring out the reverse sweep. However, a risky second run after one such stroke saw him run out by a direct hit from the deep. Kashyap, bowling quicker through the air, also kept the batters guessing with balls that skidded low.

Radesh and Hima Teja both made 31 off 70 deliveries, while Rohit Rayudu contributed 18 from as many balls. Their innings shared a pattern — relying on sweeps and defence, surviving LBW shouts, before falling. Radesh top-edged a pull, Teja mistimed a sweep, and Rayudu chipped Ishant Bhardwaj tamely to cover. Goud, too, followed a similar template and fell looking to slog.

The tail added 24 runs and took Hyderabad to a total it hopes will be competitive if conditions continue to assist the bowlers.

Published on Aug 31, 2025