Ranji Trophy: Siraj Leads Hyderabad To Victory; UP, Mumbai Also Win Big

Ranji Trophy: Siraj leads Hyderabad to victory; UP, Mumbai also win big (Mohammed Siraj leads Hyderabad to victory; UP, Mumbai also win big in the opening round in the Ranji Trophy Elite Division on Monday. Photo credit: BCCI Domestic/X)

Ranji Trophy Elite Division:  India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj led Hyderabad to a strong performance and a huge win over Tripura in the opening Group B encounter in the Ranji Trophy, while Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai also bagged big wins inside three days of their fixtures.

Siraj was named captain of Hyderabad for the first two matches and helped the team register a stellar innings and a 40-run win at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad.

Siraj struck twice in the second innings, while left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan picked up a six-wicket haul to bowl Tripura out for 120. Ruthik Yadav Mende and Abhirath Reddy also picked up a wicket each.

Tanay turned out to be the star of the match with the ball as he took a match haul of nine wickets, having taken three in the first innings too. Fellow left-arm spinner Aniketh Reddy picked a five-wicket haul in the first innings as Tripura were bowled out for 134 in the first innings after opting to bat first.

Hyderabad batters did well enough in reply, with contributions coming from the top and then from the lower middle-order. Opener Tanmay Agarwal scored 54, while the other opener Abhirath made 32. No.3 Gahlaut Rahul Singh (5), Pragnay Reddy (0) and Kodimela Himateja (18) were removed early, but the lower order stood up.

No.6 Ruthik made 61 from 150 balls, while No.7 Rahul Radesh scored 40 from 119 deliveries, as Chama V Milind made 40 from 55 to power the team to 294, which proved to be enough.

UP and Mumbai also won big. Aryan Juyal-led UP defeated Bihar in their Group A clash at the Rajgir International Cricket Stadium by an innings and 267 runs as Bihar could not do much with the 540 UP had made in the first innings.

Madhav Kaushik (150) and Rinku Singh (112) had scored strong centuries, while Aaradhya Yadav (84) and Zeeshan Ansari (58) hit half centuries.

Sakibul Gani's Bihar were bowled out for 141 in reply, as opener Mangal Mahrour top-scored with just 25. Kartik Yadav and Karan Sharma shared eight wickets, as both took four each. UP asked Bihar to follow on, and the hosts could not do much in the second innings too.

Zeeshan Ansari picked up a four-wicket haul, while Karan and Kartik scalped three and two more, respectively, to bowl Bihar out for 132 in a huge win for UP.

Mumbai also made light work of Chandigarh in their Group D fixture at the Wankhede Stadium with an innings and 155-run win. Mumbai needed to bat only once and piled up 429 in the first innings after contributions flowed from several spheres.

Captain Siddhesh Lad scored 86, while Musheer Khan (65), Tanush Kotian (58) and Mohit Avasthi (56) also scored half centuries. For Chandigarh, Raj Bawa and Rohit Dhanda scalped four-wicket hauls each.

Tushar Deshpande starred with the ball for Mumbai as he picked up a hat-trick and followed it with a five-wicket haul to help Mumbai bowl Chandigarh out for just 78. The visitors were asked to follow on, and while they put up a fight, they were bowled out for 196, with Shams Mulani and Tanish Kotian picking up three wickets each and Tushar scalping two more.

Captain Siddhesh Lad scored 86, while Musheer Khan (65), Tanush Kotian (58) and Mohit Avasthi (56) also scored half centuries. For Chandigarh, Raj Bawa and Rohit Dhanda scalped four-wicket hauls each.

Article Source: IANS