Andhra 207 for 3 in reply to Hyderabad's 271

Andhra replied strongly making 207 for 3 in 76 overs after dismissing Hyderabad for 271 at stumps on day two of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match here Monday.

Opener C R Gnaneshwar led the way with a solid 65 after K V Sasikanth's five-wicket haul helped the host restrict Hyderabad to 271.

Riding on half-centuries by Himalay Agarwal (59) and captain Akshat Reddy (57) and a cameo by No11 Mehdi Hassan, Hyderabad, overnight 226 for 7, added a further 45 runs.

Gnaneshwar and D B Prashant Kumar (32) provided a good start for Andhra and put on 58 runs. T Ravi Teja got the first wicket for the visitors' when he dismissed Kumar.

Gnaneshwar and Jyothisaikrishna (38) were involved in a 62-run stand for the second wicket to push Andhra forward.

After the fall of Gnaneshwar, Jyothisaikrishna and Ricky Bhui added 46 runs. Jyothisaikrishna's exit brought K S Bharat together and they ensured the team suffered no further losses.

Brief scores (at end of day 2): Hyderabad 271 all out in 81.4 overs (Himalay Agarwal 59, P Akshat Reddy 57, K V Sasikant 5 for 64) vs Andhra 207 for 3 in 76 overs (Gnaneshwar 65).

At Mohali: Kerala 121 all out in 37 overs (Vishnu Vinod 35, Siddarth Kaul 6 for 55) and 127/3 in 42 overs (Mohammed Azharuddeen 76 batting)vs Punjab 217 all out in 75.2 overs (Jiwanjot Singh 69, Mandeep Singh 89, Sandeep Warrier 5 for 83).

At Indore: Madhya Pradesh 265 all out in 98.3 overs (Rajat Patidar 47, Naman Ojha 41, Shubam Sharma 54, Arpit Guleria 2 for 36) and 47 for 2 vs Himachal 127 all out.