Hyderabad: Himalay Agarwal hit an unbeaten century to be the only batsman to come good as Hyderabad were shot out for a mere 124 by Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘B’ game being played in Indore.
Batting at No.7, Himalay scored 69 not out and slammed eight fours and two sixes in his 76-ball knock.
Himalay walked in at 29 for 5, which soon became 37 for 7 when he began to accumulate runs in the company of tailenders Mehdi Hassan, Ravi Kiran and Mohammad Muddassir.
MP had already taken the lead, replying with 168 for 1 by close of play.
In Chennai, half-centuries by skipper B. Indrajith (87) and debutant M. Shahrukh Khan (82 batting) helped Tamil Nadu recover from 31 for 4 to a respectable 249 for 6.
Electing to bat first, Tamil Nadu suffered an early jolt when the experienced Abhinav Mukund was leg-before wicket for a duck to Sandeep Warrier off the second ball of the match.
B. Aparajith (3), who made a ton in the last match against Bengal, didn’t last too long and was done in by a beautiful delivery from Warrier.
Opener Kaushik Gandhi (19) and Dinesh Karthik (4), who is back in the state squad after being part of the national T20 side in the series against Australia, were sent back by Basil Thampi to leave Tamil Nadu in a spot of bother. Dinesh Karthik was caught brilliantly by K. B. Arun Karthick.
