Hyderabad collapse for just 166
Hyderabad were skittled out for just 166 and Mumbai took control of the Ranji Trophy semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium
Wisden Cricinfo staff
14-Mar-2004
Elite Group semi-finals
Ambati Rayudu saved Hyderabad from embarrassment on the first day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium. After deciding to bat, Hyderabad were jolted in the eighth over by a Munaf Patel double strike, as he removed both Arvind Shetty and Vinay Kumar. He struck in his next over too, bowling Daniel Manohar, and Hyderabad were hobbling at 34 for 3. Anirudh Singh compiled a patient 17, and his 60-run partnership with Rayudu was the best part of the day for Hyderabad. But Sairaj Bahutule got stuck into the middle order, and none of the other batsmen even reached double figures. Rayudu, who stroked 15 fours and a six, was the only binding element in the crumbling line-up. He was the last to go, falling to Nilesh Kulkarni, and Hyderabad had survived only 59 overs. Bahutule finished with 4 for 42 and Kulkarni chipped in with 2 for 45. Mumbai rubbed it in in the afternoon, as Wasim Jaffer and Vinayak Mane added 84 for the first wicket. They were still there at the end of the day. Like a few other matches at the Wankhede this season, this one may not last the distance.
Sridharan Sriram carved a fighting 81 and rescued Tamil Nadu from a tricky position against Railways in the semi-final at Chennai. After choosing to bat, Tamil Nadu got off to a solid start. Sadagoppan Ramesh and Somsetty Suresh put on 54 for the first wicket, before Ramesh fell to the offspinner Shreyas Khanolkar for 23. A steadying partnership between Suresh and Sriram was followed by two quick wickets after lunch, as Jai Prakash Yadav, the medium-pacer, accounted for both Suresh and Subramanium Badrinath. But Sriram continued the battle of attrition and received valuable support form the middle order. Sreedharan Sharath, Vasudevdas and Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan chipped in, and the total trickled slowly towards the 250 mark. Sriram, who hit eight fours, remained unbeaten at the end of the day, having seen off 195 balls already. It could well be another gritty struggle tomorrow.
Plate Group semi-finals
Shafiq Khan hit an unbeaten 103, but the match at Pune hung in the balance as Haryana reached 218 for 6 by the end of the first day. The top four batsmen all got off to decent starts, but the fact that none kicked on to a big score hurt Haryana. They lost wickets at regular intervals - three of them to Kiran Adhav, the left-arm spinner - but Shafiq's 144-ball knock, which included 13 fours, prevented a collapse.
Pravanjan Mullick's 96 was the highlight as Orissa finished the first day of their semi-final at Cuttack with 217 for 4 at Cuttack. Yogesh Golwalkar pegged them back with two wickets, but Mullick and N Behara put on 109, and remained together when stumps were drawn.