Andhra-Hyderabad Ranji Trophy match ends in draw

Andhra picked up three points after its Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match against Hyderabad here Wednesday ended in a draw.

Akshath Reddy (65, 98 balls) and Himalay Agarwal (60, 93 balls) batted solidly for Andhra to dash the home team's hopes of securing a victory.

Resuming at 33 for no loss, Hyderabad lost opener Tanmay Agarwal (18), castled by B Ayyappa.

The other opener Tilar Verma (34) didn't last too long either as he was bowled by Shoaib Mohammed Khan to leave the visitors at 64 for 2.

Skipper Akshath Reddy and B Sandeep (45, 101 balls) got together for a 84-run stand for the third wicket.

Once their partnership was broken, Sandeep forged an important association with Agarwal to deny Andhra an opening.

Himalay held firm despite the loss of Sandeep and Ravi Teja (8) to steer Hyderabad to safety.

Play was called off before the commencement of the final hour with Hyderabad having erased the first innings defeat.

Andhra earned three points to take its tally to 11 from seven matches while Hyderabad is sixth in Group 'B' with 17. Madhya Pradesh is on top with 24 points followed by Himachal on 22, Bengal (22), Kerala and Punjab (both 20).

At Mohali, Punjab thrashed Kerala by 10 wickets and took their points tally to 20, thereby brightening their chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals.

Brief scores (at end of day 4): Hyderabad 271 all out in 90.3 overs and 251 for 5 in 85 overs (Akshath Reddy 65, Himalay Agarwal 60 not out) drew Andhra 502 for 7 declared in 154 overs (K S Bharat 178 not out, Ricky Bhui 129, C R Gnaneswar 65). Points: Andhra: 3, Hyderabad: 1.