Masterclass: Nitin Sai’s flight and guile left Haryana batters clueless.
| Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ
There was loop, there was flight, there was spin, and there was guile.
Hyderabad’s 21-year-old left-arm spinner Nitin Sai Yadav left the Haryana batters flummoxed, tying them in knots to guide his team to a commanding 91-run victory in the semifinal of the Buchi Babu tournament at the IC-Guru Nanak ground here on Wednesday.
It was always going to be a mountain to climb for Haryana. Overnight batters Himanshu Rana and Lakshya Dalal dug deep on a surface with significant wear and tear. The duo kept the scoreboard ticking, finding the occasional boundary to keep their side in the hunt.
However, the 80-run third-wicket resistance was broken when left-arm spinner Aniketh Reddy sent back Lakshya to a simple catch at first slip.
As the old adage goes, ‘one brings two’, the well-set Himanshu followed soon after, falling to off-spinner Rohith Rayudu, leaving Haryana in further trouble at 84 for four.
Dheeru Singh and Sumit Kumar then tried to stabilise the innings, but the first ball after lunch saw Nitin flight one beautifully, enticing Sumit into a wild slog — only to see his stumps rattled.
With the pitch offering both turn and bounce, the writing on the wall was clear. Nitin castled Yashvardhan Dalal around his legs and shattered Dheeru Singh’s stumps soon after.
Aniketh returned to dismiss Amit Rana, while Nitin sealed the win by trapping Nikhil Kashyap plumb in front and removing Parth Vats, as Hyderabad stormed into the final.
The scores (semifinal, fourth and final day):
At IC-Guru Nanak: Hyderabad 225 & 254 bt Haryana 208 & 181 in 62.4 overs (Himanshu Rana 46, Nitin Sai 7/44).
At CSK-HPC: TNCA President’s XI 567/9 decl. bt Jammu & Kashmir 230 in 74 overs (Yawar Hassan 84, Abdul Samad 75, P. Vidyuth 7/73). J&K conceded the match after losing the first innings race.
Final: Sept. 6 to 9: TNCA President’s XI vs. Hyderabad, CSK-HPC.
Published – September 03, 2025 10:01 pm IST
