Hyderabad: Number 10 batsman Ilyaan Sathani hit a defiant unbeaten half-century to provide some stability to Hyderabad who were once reeling at 144/9 on Day One in their third round Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy match against Karnataka being played here at the ECIL Grounds.
Opting to bat, home side kept losing wickets at regular intervals with the top nine batters going back to pavilion without contributing much to the team’s tally. P. Shiva (24), skipper K. Sai Purnanand Rao (20) and Anirudh Raj (26) were the only batsmen to score 20 or more.
However, tailender Ilyaan had different plans in his mind. He dispatched 15 boundaries and a six to score an unbeaten 81 off 82 balls to take Hyderabad’s total to 222 for 9 when stumps were drawn. Ilyaan was well supported by Sragvi who was batting on six after facing 36 deliveries.
Meanwhile at the NFC Grounds, Andhra’s Y. Vasu (5/59) trapped five batters in his spin web while Asif claimed three wickets to bowl out Kerala for 138 in 67.5 overs.
Later, Andhra finished the day at 114 for 1 with K. Nithish Kumar Reddy batting on 69 along with M. Surya Kiran (14 n.o).
In the other match at the Gymkhana Grounds, Goa put up a better show against Tamil Nadu and finished the day at 218 for 5 in 90 overs. Sanjay Gajinkar missed his century by 7-run mark.
Brief scores (Day 1)
n Hyderabad 222/9 in 90 overs (P. Shiva 24, K. Sai Purnanand Rao 20, K. Anirudh Raj 26, Ilyaan Sathani batting 81, D. Sai Sragvi batting 6, Kushal Gowda 4/61) vs Karnataka.
n Kerala 138 in 67.5 overs (Omar Abubacker 29, Rehan Sai P.S. 30, Y. Vasu 5/59 — 27-8-59-5, Asif 3/11) vs Andhra 114/1 in 26 overs (B. Yogananda 27, K. Nithish Kumar Reddy batting 69, M. Surya Kiran batting 14).
n Goa 218/5 in 90 (Om Ramdas Madgaonkar 21, Shubham Sanjay Ganjikar 93, Anand R. Tendulkar 25, Udit Yadav 35, A. Ranjan 2/48) vs Tamil Nadu.
