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Hyderabad lets Rajasthan off the hook; Bisht and Bishnoi bat well

Principal Correspondent

— PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

REPAIRING THE DAMAGE: After Rajasthan had been reduced to 93 for three, Robin Bisht (above) and Rajesh Bishnoi rode their luck to put on an unbeaten 174-run stand.

HYDERABAD: Rajasthan thrived on Hyderabad’s largesse to reach 267 for three in its first innings and remain in contention after Hyderabad’s 553 for six declared on the third day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Super League Elite Group ‘A’ match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Tuesday.

The visitors got off to a dismal start, with S.M. Shoaib causing them trouble. First, he removed Vineet Saxena, who was caught smartly at second slip by Ravi Teja, and later trapped the seasoned Gagan Khoda in front with an inswinger. It could have been 72 for three in 26th over but T. Suman failed to latch on to a regulation catch at second slip off medium-pacer Ashwin Yadav when Robin Bisht was on three — a miss which has already proved costly as the batsman (86 batting, 306 minutes, 225 balls, 12x4) grew in confidence.

He essayed some flowing drives through off, the pick of them being when he walked down the track to cover-drive Ashwin to the fence.

Rajasthan captain Y. Venugopala Rao lived dangerously before slashing one from M.P. Arjun straight to the substitute Ronald Rodrigues at point. At 93 for three in 30.5 overs, it seemed Hyderabad was on top.

But, left-arm spinner Lalith Mohan, who started off well, lost direction soon, either bowling short or over-pitching to let the batsmen off the hook.

The post lunch session saw some fielding lapses too, as wicketkeeper Abhinav Kumar fumbled with a simple chance after Rajesh Bishnoi edged one off Arjun while on 49 and the score at 180 for three.

Dropped

In the post tea-session, stand-in captain Arjun Yadav — V.V.S. Laxman was off the field with a hurting right heel — failed to hold on to a chance at second slip off part-time leg-spinner Suman in his second over when Bishnoi, then on 79, tried to play a defensive push. Soon after that, Abhinav missed a leg-side catch off Bisht.

By then, Bisht and Bishnoi had already put on a 174-run stand for the fourth wicket in 255 minutes.

With Lalith Mohan looking ordinary and off-spinner Ahmed Quadri never really threatening to take a wicket, both Bisht and Bishnoi ensured there were no hiccups in the final session even after Hyderabad claimed the second new ball at 259 for three in 92.3 overs.

The scores: Hyderabad — 1st innings: 553 for six declared.

Rajasthan — 1st innings: V. Saxena c Teja b Shoaib 13, G. Khoda lbw b Shoaib 40, Venugopala Rao c sub b M.P. Arjun 20, R. Bisht (batting) 86, R. Bishnoi (batting) 93, Extras (b-11, lb-2, nb-2) 15; Total (for three in 98 overs) 267.

Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-67, 3-93.

Hyderabad bowling: Shoaib 24-0-48-2, M.P. Arjun 16-3-39-1, Lalith 30-7-81-0, Ashwin 15-3-45-0, Quadri 7-0-27-0, Suman 5-1-13-0, Teja 1-0-1-0.

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