CHENNAI: Hyderabad had earlier conceded the first innings lead (280 runs) by only four runs to Chhattisgarh (284) in the fourth group stage match of the Ranji Trophy. With the match seemingly heading for a draw, the visitors were well positioned to take three points. However, left-arm spinner G Aniketh Reddy had other ideas.
After getting out in a time when Hyderabad were edging closer to a crucial first innings lead, Aniketh returned with a bang both with bat and ball in the second innings of the match. With the ball, he (3/68), along with Rakshan Readdi (3/45), scalped three wickets each to help the hosts dismiss visitors for 254. Then with the bat, the duo forged a match-winning 39-run partnership for the 10th wicket on Thursday.
Aniketh revealed that their partnership, which eventually helped the team win the thriller, was in the making from pre-season. “When the ninth wicket fell, obviously I was nervous. I was planning how to put the team across the line. But I realised that me and Rakshan had a partnership before this. We played a practice game against Kerala. We put up a 80-90 odd-runs partnership there,” he told this daily from Secunderabad.
While they might have succeeded in building a partnership as both batting and bowling partners in the end, negating Chhattisgarh’s spin wizards of Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Jayant Yadav was not easy. There, Aniketh and Rakshan made the most of advice from all-time leading Ranji Trophy run-getter and Hyderabad mentor Wasim Jaffer and head coach Anirudh Singh. “Usually when the ninth-wicket falls, people try to go aggressive. During tea, I had a chat with my coach and Wasim sir and they said, 'take it deep, don't do anything big, just hold your nerve and let's see what will happen and play single, single, double, single, double,'" he revealed.
And when Rakshan struck the ball high off Yadav in the 80th over at 253/9, Aniketh, who had already ran halfway from the other end, saw the ball clear the fence at deep-square leg and went off celebrating. “He's the kind of player who can hit it well if and when he tries to. But we just wanted to get closer and closer to the target. And the way he chose the ball, and I mean, he didn't misstep, he didn't come out to hit a six. Jayant Bhai bowled one with flight and Rakshan saw it and he went for it,” he said.
Brief scores (Group B): Chhattisgarh 280 in 90.1 ovs & 254 in 68.4 ovs lost to Hyderabad 280 in 86.1 ovs & 259/9 in 79.4 ovs (Abhirath 68, Radesh 39, Varun 55, Gangam 39 n.o; Dev 3/28, Jadeja 2/87, Jayant 2/66, Ajay 2/74).