Half-centuries by Himalay Agarwal, Akshat prop up Hyderabad vs Andhra

Half-centuries by Himalay Agarwal (59) and captain Akshat Reddy (57) helped Hyderabad reach 226 for seven in 81.4 overs on day one of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match here Sunday.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, Hyderabad saw opener N Tilak Varma (5) being sent back by K V Sasikanth.

Akshat, who joined opener Tanmay Agrwal, added 61 runs in quick time as they steadied the ship.

Left-arm medium pacer Y Prithvi Raj struck the second blow for Andhra, clean bowling Tanmay for 44.

Akshat was then involved in an useful 72-run stand with B P Sandeep (33) during which they mixed caution and aggression.

However, the home team struck a double blow, getting Sandeep and Akshat at 145 with Girinath Reddy and Sasikanth getting into the act.

One run later, T Ravi Teja (1) was caught by Ashwin Hebbar off Prithvi Raj and Hyderabad had slipped to 146 for five.

Himalay (59, 103 balls, 7X4, 2X6) held firm to take Hyderabad past 200, though it lost another wicket when KSK Chaitnay (6) was dismissed.

The visiting team suffered a huge blow when Himalay's enterprising knock was ended by Sasikanth to bring an early end to the day's proceedings.

Medium-pacer Sasikanth was the best bowler with figures of three for 40 while Prithvi Raj and Girinath Reddy took two wickets each.

Brief scores (at end of day 1): Hyderabad 226 for 7 in 81.4 overs (Himalay Agarwal 59, P Akshat Reddy 57, K V Saikanth 3 for 49). Toss: Hyderabad.

At Mohali: Kerala 121 all out in 37 overs (Vishnu Vinod 35, Siddarth Kaul 6 for 55) vs Punjab 135 for 2 in 40 overs (Jiwanjot Singh 67 batting, Mandeep Singh 41 batting). Toss: Punjab.

At Indore: Madhya Pradesh 235 for 5 in 89 overs (Rajat Patidar 47, Naman Ojha 41, Arpit Guleria 2 for 36) vs Himachal. Toss: Himachal.