03-Nov-2008 106
Hyderabad rode on a half-century each by opener D Ravi Teja (71) and S Anoop Pai (78) to fight back from 58 for three to end the opening day at 228 for five in first innings of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group-A match against Orissa at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack today.
Orissa captain Shiv Sundar Das` decision to put the opposition into bat paid dividend immediately as experienced swing bowler Debasis Mohanty trapped T Suman in front of the wicket in the very first ball of the match. Getting early assistance off the pitch, Mohanty struck again by castling debutant D Rishi Raj to reduce Hyderabad to 24 for two.
Providing good support from the other end, young seamer Preetamjeet Das dismissed opposition skipper Arjun Yadav for 9, taking a good return catch.
But host Orissa`s hopes to restrict Hyderabad to a low total was ably thawrted by Teja, who stitched a 79-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Pai. Playing with positive attitude, Teja hit eight boundaries and a six in his 128-ball knock before being sent back by Preetamjeet.
Capitalising on Orissa`s lapses in fielding and catching, Hyderabad consolidated their innings with Pai and Abhinab Kumar compiling 91 runs for firth wicket. The visitors would have been in a better position than they are now if Pai had been trapped lbw by speedster Basant Mohanty in the last over of the day. Pai`s 240-ball knock of 78 was studded with eight hits to the fence and one over it. When stumps were drawn for the day, Abhinab was batting on 48, which included six hits to the rope.
SCORE BOARD
Hyderabad (1st innings):
T Suman lbw D Mohanty 0, Ravi Teja lbw P Das 71, Rishi Raj b D Mohanty 15, A Yadav c & b P Das 9, SA Pai lbw B Mohanty 78, Abhinab Kumar (batting) 48: Extras (b-6, w-1) 7
Total (5 wkts, 89.2 overs) 228
Fall of wickets: 1/0, 2/24, 3/58, 4/137, 5/228
Bowling: Debasis Mohanty 20-7-43-2, Basant Mohanty 23.2-7-54-1, Preetamjeet Das 14-3-41-2, P Jayachandra 2-0-14-0, Sourav Sehgal 15-0-57-0, Rakesh Mohanty 6-2-7-0, Niranjan Behera 9-4-6-0.
