An attractive 90 by Andhra opener D.B. Prasanth Kumar (236b, 10x4, 1x6) and his 80-run opening wicket partnership with K.S. Bharat (42, 86b, 5x4) helped Andhra finish at 177 for one on the penultimate day of the Group-C Ranji Trophy match at Holkar Stadium here on Monday. Earlier, Services was all out for 446.
Andhra, has its task cut out on the final day, with the pitch gradually beginning to assist the spinners. The niggling back sprain which forced skipper Hanuma Vihari not to continue batting after tea will be a cause of worry.
Andhra still needs 270 runs to bag the all-important three points. Both Bharat and Prasanth gave their team a flying start by scoring against the pacers. They took advantage of the well spread-out field and found the gaps in the pre-lunch session.
At lunch Andhra was 60 no loss.
Post lunch session saw Bharat living dangerously and the poor anticipation by overnight century-maker Shamsher Yadav at the first slip gave two reprieves to the Andhra opener. However, Bharat did not last long as he was bowled by left-arm spinner V.U. Yadav.
Prasanth gradually grew in confidence and played his natural game with aplomb. He brought out his fifty — his fifth of the season — by hoisting left-arm spinner Azharuddin Bloch for a huge six over long on.
It was Shamsher Yadav who, for the third time, floored a catch at the extra cover to let Prasanth off the hook. Disaster struck Andhra when Hanuma Vihari, who was on 18, did not continue his batting owing to sprain.
Resuming at 400 for eight, Rahul Singh (127) went on to complete his hundred, the second of the season. His first one — 185 — came against Tripura last month.
The scores :
Services — 1st innings: Anshul Gupta lbw b Ravi Teja 72, Soumik Chatterjee c Bharat b Stephen 12, Ravi Chauhan b Stephen 0, S.V. Yadav c Siva b Bhatt 136, V. U. Yadav run out 16, Raushan Raj run out 27, S. Rahul Singh (not out) 127, Nakul Sharma c & b Bhatt 2, Azaruddin Bloch lbw b Ravi Teja 1, Diwesh Pathania b Stephen 18, Sachidanand Pandey b Ravi Teja 1; Extras (b-12, lb-7, w-3, nb-12): 34; Total (in 188.5 overs): 446.
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-19, 3-159, 4-190, 5-250, 6-357, 7-371, 8-378, 9-428.
Andhra bowling: D. Siva Kumar 26-12-37-0, Stephen 30-9-87-3, Bhargav Bhatt 69-22-136-2, B. Ayyappa 42-12-116-0, Ashwin Hebbar 7-2-24-0, D.B. Ravi Teja 13.5-4-25-3, D.B. Prasanth Kumar 1-0-2-0.
Andhra — 1st innings: K.S. Bharat b V.U. Yadav 42, D.B. Prasanth Kumar (batting) 90, Hanuma Vihari (retd. hurt) 18, R.K. Sreekanth (batting) 24; Extras: (b-1, lb-1, w-1): 3; Total (for one wkt. in 79 overs): 177.
Fall of wicket: 1-80.
Services bowling: D. G. Pathania 13-1-48-0, Raushan Raj 11-6-21-0, Sachidanand Pandey 11-5-23-0, V. U. Yadav 20-7-34-1, Azharuddin Bloch 23-10-47-0, Soumik Chatterjee 1-0-2-0.
