Hyderabad: Soumik Chatterjee scored a brilliant century and was backed up by his teammates as Services made a solid albeit unspectacular start to their Group ‘C’ Ranji Trophy match against Hyderabad in New Delhi on Sunday.
Soumik (135 batting), Yashpal Singh (51 batting) and Anshul Singh (43) performed well with the bat to take their side to a doughty 244 for 3 by stumps on the opening day.
For the fielding side, left-arm pacer C.V. Milind accounted for all three Services wickets, giving away 60 runs in the process. All three wickets fell within the space of 26 runs.
Hyderabad skipper G.H. Vihari, whose side have been winless so far this season, will be left scratching his head over how he could effect a turnaround in his side’s fortunes. In retrospect, asking Services to bat was, perhaps, not the best decision as the home side made a solid start through Soumik and Anshul. The duo put together a 108-run stand for the opening wicket before Anshul was caught behind by wicketkeeper K. Sumanth, triggering a mini collapse.
Milind effected another breakthrough only 16 runs later when he dismissed Amit Pacchara in similar fashion before castling Rajat Paliwal for only 4. The scoreline read 134 for 3. It was then that Soumik and Yashpal got together and steered their side clear of trouble with an unbeaten 110-run partnership.
Soumik’s patient knock consumed 169 deliveries and contained 18 hits to the fence. Meanwhile, Yashpal scored nine boundaries during his 98-ball stay at the wicket. Vihari will hope another moment of inspiration — similar to Milind’s — strikes his side when they take the field on the second day.
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