HYDERABAD : On a wicket that seemed unresponsive right from ball one of the Elite Group B match between Hyderabad and Delhi, a draw had looked inevitable. It was no surprise when both sides agreed to call-off the remaining of scheduled Day 4 at 3:29 p.m on Friday, ending the match in a draw.
While Delhi had to contend with a solitary point, the hosts were finally able to crack the ‘lead’ code this season, and add three points to their tally to jump to the third place in the Group with 5 points. Debutant left-arm orthodox Tanay Thyagarajan (5/77) was adjudged the man of the match for grabbing five important Delhi wickets.
With the result, Delhi skipper Nitish Rana’s clairvoyance was also established. “There is nothing in the wicket. This match will definitely lead to a draw. I am 100 per cent sure about that,” the young skipper had said on Day 1, criticising BCCI for producing wickets like these. Thyagarajan, after grabbing three on Day 3, further hurt Delhi’s campaign by scalping two more on Friday to restrict the visitors to 339, which was 121 lesser than Hyderabad’s 460. In response, Hyderabad hardly blinked. Propelled by in-form opener Tanmay Agarwal (82), they garnered 156/1 in 43 overs. Makeshift opener K Rohit Rayudu (61 n.o) and Agarwal contributed 134 for the first wicket to dash any Delhi hopes of a miracle.
When the day’s proceedings began, the Delhi batsmen had their task cut out, as they needed 216 to gain lead. Some seeds of hope were sown by all-rounder Lalit Yadav (77). In came Thyagarajan, and created a dent in Delhi’s progress.
Hyderabad have gained three points when they needed it badly. It has propelled them in the race to the qualifiers. With top five teams from Elite A and B combined making it to quarterfinals, Hyderabad are in the ninth spot. “We played on similar wickets in the first two matches, and got only one point in each game. So, this result is definitely good for us,” the spinner said.
Over the course of four days, 341.4 overs were bowled, but the 23-year-old said the pitch still remained conducive for batting and making in-roads was tough. “It’s still a very good wicket to bat on. Once again, all five us put in a lot of effort to get breakthroughs. It was not easy to get those last four wickets. It’s a dream come true for me. I worked really hard for many years for this day,” Thyagarajan, who has represented Hyderabad in the other two formats, said.
Delhi, are placed at number 11 in the combined table, will face Punjab and Andhra at home. “The next two matches are at home. We will aim for outright wins in those. Gaining the first-innings lead will
be the target. Brief scores: Hyderabad 460 & 156/1 (Tanmay 82, Rohit 61*) drew with Delhi 339 (Lalit 77; Thyagarajan 5/77). Pts: Hyd 3, Del 1.