Buchi Babu final | Tanay’s five-for does the trick for Hyderabad

Gaining momentum: Hyderabad will buoyed by the Buchi Babu triumph before playing in the Elite group in the upcoming Ranji Trophy.
| Photo Credit: MOORTHY G

Hyderabad clinched the Buchi Babu title in style, beating Chhattisgarh by 243 runs on the final day of the summit clash at the NPR College Ground here on Wednesday.

The Rahul Singh-led side entered day four on firm footing, having already secured the crucial first-innings lead and had set Chhattisgarh an improbable target of 518 in 90 overs.

Ayush Pandey.
| Photo Credit:
MOORTHY G

Chhattisgarh, though, did not go down without a fight. Led by openers Ayush Pandey (117, 134b, 13×4, 3×6) — who slammed a brilliant century — and Shashank Chandrakar (50, 45b, 6×4, 2×6), the team got off to a blazing start. The pair stitched a 100-run partnership off just 103 balls.

Chandrakar made his intentions clear in the second over, taking on pacer Karthikeya Kak, slamming him for two consecutive fours before pulling him over the fine-leg boundary for a maximum.

The right-handed batter did not hold back, preferring to take the aerial route against the spinners to reach his half-century quickly. Pandey would not be left behind, sweeping the tweakers for a flurry of boundaries. He was nimble on his feet and charged down to hit left-arm spinner Aniket Reddy for three sixes down the ground.

Tanay Thyagarajan.
| Photo Credit:
MOORTHY G

However, left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan kept chipping away with wickets (five for 61) even as the runs kept flowing at a brisk pace. Chhattisgarh managed 194 for five in an action-packed 34-over first session.

Post-lunch, Pandey grafted his way to his landmark but could only delay the inevitable.

On a helpful pitch that offered turn and bounce, Hyderabad spinners’ persistence paid off and managed to wrap things up just before tea.

Hyderabad skipper Rahul Singh felt the win was a morale-booster for his side ahead of its return to Elite Group for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season.

“We wanted to play aggressive cricket and did it throughout the tournament. We did that in the Plate group last year, which was a bit easy, but we played against some good teams here,” said Rahul.

Hyderabad took home ₹three lakh and Chhattisgarh ₹two lakh.

The scores: Hyderabad 417 & 281 bt Chhattisgarh 181 & 274 in 61.1 overs (Ayush Pandey 117, Shashank Chandrakar 50, Tanay Thyagarajan 5/61); PoM: Rohit Rayudu; PoS: Ayush Pandey.