Hyderabad: The hard hit on the head while fielding in the previous match seems to have spurred Hyderabad opener Tanmay Agarwal to shake up rival teams. The 21-year-old has come up with a stirring show since to slam centuries in both innings of the ongoing Ranji Trophy Group ‘C’ match against Jammu & Kashmir in Vadodara on Thursday. Tanmay followed up his first innings score of 119 to hit an unbeaten 103 in the second as Hyderabad took stranglehold of the match on the third day at the Moti Bagh Stadium.
The left-hander cracked 12 boundaries and three sixes in his 183-ball knock to become the fifth player to score a century in each innings for Hyderabad in a Ranji Trophy match. Mohammad Azharuddin, M.V. Sridhar, VVS Laxman and Ambati Rayudu are the others to have achieved the coveted batting double. Propelled by Tanmay’s innings and half-centuries from P. Akshath Reddy (53) and S. Badrinath (66), Hyderabad declared their second innings at 244 for 2 to gain an overall lead of 403 and then had J&K reeling at 42 for 4, still 361 in arrears with a day’s play left. That sets up Hyderabad well for a third consecutive win. J&K is certain to be crushed under the weight of two-ton Tanmay.
Hyderabad mediumpacer Ravi Kiran continued his good form into the second innings to scalp two wickets while conceding 14 runs while C. V. Milind and Md Siraj played supporting roles by claiming a wicket each. It may be recalled that Tanmay was rushed to the hospital after being hit on the head while fielding at forward short leg in the Ranji Trophy match against Chhattisgarh in Valsad (Gujarat) on November 23 — Manoj Singh’s pull against spinner Mehdi Hasan had found his helmet. Tanmay was conscious but was stretchered off the field and taken to the hospital for a preliminary check followed by a scan.
Brief scores:
Hyderabad 328 in 131.3 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 119 — 321b, 17x4) & 244/2 decl. in 57 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 103 n.o. — 183b, 12x4, 3x6, P. Akshath Reddy 53, S. Badrinath 66) vs Jammu & Kashmir 169 in 55.3 overs (Samiullah Beigh 29, M. Ravi Kiran 4 for 32, C. V. Milind 2 for 29, Md Siraj 3 for 51, Akash Bhandari 1 for 29) & 42 for 4 in 17 overs (M. Ravi Kiran 2 for 14, C. V. Milind 1 for 22, Md Siraj 1 for 6)
