Srinivas (107) leads strong Hyderabad reply

Undaunted by the imposing Madhya Pradesh total of 490, Hyderabad did well in replying with 300 for four wickets off 99 overs at stumps on the third day of the Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal at the Daly college grounds in Indore on Monday.

Hyderabad resumed at 34 without loss and openers Daniel Manohar and wicketkeeper M Srinivas put on 116 runs off 31 overs before the former gave Narendra Hirwani a return catch. Manohar faced 111 balls and hit seven of them to the ropes. Srinivas then found another able partner in Anirudh Singh and the two increased the score by 89 runs during a second wicket association that lasted 32.3 overs. Srinivas, who had by then reached his century, was second out at 205 when he was bowled by Bundela. For his 107, the 26-year-old right hander batted 4-1/2 hours, faced 186 balls and hit 12 fours and a six.

Anirudh Singh was third out at 223 when he was caught by Yadav off Chauhan for 42. He faced 108 balls and hit five fours and a six. But Vanka Pratap and Vinay Kumar (27) then carried on the good work by adding 50 runs off 19.1 overs for the fourth wicket. Vinay Kumar was bowled by Chauhan but by close, Vanka Pratap had diligently built his score to 47 off 107 balls with five hits to the ropes. Keeping him company is skipper A Nandakishore (7). The stage is set for a keen duel for the all important first innings lead on Tuesday.