HYDERABAD: An exceptional allround performance by Murugan Abhishek rallied Hyderabad Under 16 to a dramatic one-run victory over Madhya Pradesh in their Vijay Merchant Trophy quarterfinal match at the Gymkhana ground here on Thursday.
In a cracker of a game, Hyderabad choked Madhya Pradesh on the fourth day and stormed into the semifinal.
Chasing 255 for a win in their second innings, MP looked in control before off-spinner Abhishek wrecked their ship with fantastic figures of 5 for 92 to bowl them out for 253.
Ironically, it was Yatendra Prajapati — who took 6 for 33 to bowl Hyderabad for a paltry 144 in the second innings — that was the last man out, caught by Arnav Kothapally off Murugan Abhishek.
Abhishek had scored a century (108) in Hyderabad’s first innings and followed it up with a 4 for 41 with the ball in MP’s first innings.
Brief scores: Hyderabad 276 in 108.2 overs (Murugan Abhishek 108 — 232b, 14x4) & 144 in 60.4 overs (Dheeraj Goud 36, Pranav Varma 37, Aryan Pandey 4 for 40, Yatendra Prajapati 6 for 33) bt Madhya Pradesh 166 in 53.5 overs (Murugan Abhishek 4 for 41) & 253 in 84.4 overs (Adarsh Dubey 40, Anchit Thakur 33, Arnav Kothapally 2 for 11, Murugan Abhishek 5 for 92 — 29.4-8-92-5, Nitin Sai Yadav 2 for 62).
