Sumit Kumar ran down the track to defend, but the ball turned sharply away from him, and he was stumped. The dismissal summed up how little the batters have understood the surface here at the Guru Nanak College, with its variable bounce proving fatal. If it was Hyderabad on Sunday, it was Haryana on Monday who had the blues on day two of the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament semifinal.
If the pitch was a problem-solving equation, only captain Himanshu Rana seemed to have a solution He scored a brilliant 75 off 134 balls — the highest across the two innings so far. Despite his efforts, Haryana was bowled out for 208, falling 17 runs short of Hyderabad’s total.
In reply, the southern side lost opener Nitish Reddy P and reached 49, extending its lead to 66 runs with Aman Rao and Rahul Radesh at the crease.
Earlier on the day, Himanshu, who had retired hurt on 31 after suffering cramps, returned following Sumit’s dismissal with 84 runs still to get and five wickets in hand. The 26-year-old played the ball late but wasn’t defensive. His innings was built on sharp singles and doubles, smart placement into gaps, and six boundaries. He was the last man to fall, going for a slog.
Hyderabad’s Rohit Rayudu made life difficult for batters at the other end, finishing with five for 63. He consistently hit a good length, and his flatter deliveries caught batters uncertain — whether to press forward or go back. He bowled Yashvardhan Dalal and Parth Vats, trapped Nikhil Kashyap in front, stumped Sumit, and had Amit Rana caught at short leg.
The rest of the attack maintained pressure. With the ball keeping low, Ravi Teja induced an inside edge onto the stumps to remove opener Lakshya Dalal early in the day. Ashish Siwach, meanwhile, paid the price for attempting a drive on a surface that rewarded cuts rather than expansive drives, edging to first slip off spinner Nitin Sai Yadav.
For much of the contest, batters have been forced into a dilemma — to sweep or not to sweep. It has been a gamble worth considering, but for Dheeru Singh, it proved costly as he was adjudged leg before. The same shot, though, had served Hyderabad batters well in the first innings, and they will back themselves to use it again to stretch their lead from here.
Published on Sep 01, 2025
