The day began with a flourish, swung on a new ball, and ended with Tripura clinging on. On Monday, Hyderabad finished three wickets away from a possible innings victory against Tripura in the side’s Ranji Trophy 2026-27 season-opener here at the Gymkhana Ground.
Half-centuries from Tanmay Agarwal and debutant Ruthik Yadav handed the home side the reins. Sandip Sarkar’s eight-wicket haul was the lone bright spot for the visitor.
The day began with Tanmay reaching his half-century in the very first over. But the celebration was short-lived. He nicked one off Parvez Sultan to Rajat Dey at short leg and was gone.
Then came the patience. Ruthik, who battled his way to a 116-ball fifty, joined Rahul Radesh in a careful 75-run partnership that carried Hyderabad into lunch with the momentum firmly in hand.
But the new ball briefly brought a hint of jeopardy, when Sandip struck to send back both set batters to wrestle momentum in Tripura’s favour. A monstrous six by C.V. Milind, walloped straight down the ground, gave Hyderabad the lead.
That attacking-mindset, however, sealed his fate when wicketkeeper Sentu Sarkar whipped off the bails in a flash. Hyderabad was eventually bowled out, but with a 160-run lead in hand.
Hyderabad captain Mohammed Siraj struck an early blow in Tripura’s second innings.
| Photo Credit:
NAGARA GOPAL
Tripura’s dream of dragging the contest faded almost as soon as it began. Bikram fell leg before to Ruthik. Then Mohammed Siraj struck for his first scalp of the match, a bouncer undoing Hrituraj Ghosh Roy. By the 15th over, four more batters had trudged back to the hut.
With victory within touching distance, Siraj chose to push for the kill, extending day’s play by 30 minutes (or eight overs). But Sentu and Parvez refused to go quietly and delayed the inevitable – bringing Hyderabad’s lead down to 61 runs in the process.
The scores: Tripura — 1st innings: 134.
Hyderabad — 1st innings: Tanmay Agarwal c Manisankar b Parvez 54, Abhirath Reddy c Manisankar b Sandip 32, Rahul Singh c Manisankar b Sandip 5, Pragnay Reddy b Sandip 0, K. Himateja c Sentu b Sandip 18, Ruthik Yadav b Sandip 61, Rahul Radesh c Rajat b Sandip 40, C.V. Milind st Senthu b Sandip 40, Aniketh Reddy b Sandip 20, Tanay Thyagarajann c Sandip b Parvez 6, Mohammed Siraj (not out) 1; Extras (b-10, lb-6, nb-1): 17; Total (in 103.2 overs): 294.
Fall of wickets: 1-60, 2-66, 3-66, 4-104, 5-134, 6-212, 7-227, 8-279, 9-292.
Tripura bowling: Sandip 41.2-6-96-8, Manisankar 8-0-19-0, Abhijit 6-0-11-0, Parvez 26-4-76-2, Vihari 14-0-31-0, Bikram 4-0-21-0, Rajat 2-0-14-0, Mandeep 1-0-5-0, Sridam 1-0-5-0.
Tripura — 2nd innings: Bikram Kumar Das lbw Ruthik 11, Hrituraj Ghosh Roy c Abhirath b Siraj 5, Sridam Paul c Himateja b Abhirath 25, Hanuma Vihari c Abhirath b Tanay 1, Mandeep Singh lbw Tanay 7, Manisankar Murasingh lbw Tanay 10, Rajat Dey lbw Siraj 1, Sentu Sarkar (batting) 27, Parvez Sultan (batting) 11; Extras (b-8): 8; Total (for 7 wkts. in 35 overs): 106.
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-25, 3-27, 4-34, 5-43, 6-45, 7-81.
Hyderabad bowling: Siraj 9-4-19-2, Ruthik 6-4-14-1, Tanay 13-4-42-3, Aniketh 6-1-22-0, Abhirath 1-0-1-1.
Published – October 12, 2026 08:39 pm IST
