Ranji Trophy: Vihaan Malhotra’s four-wicket haul puts Punjab ahead of Hyderabad; Himateja and Rahul Radesh fall short of centuries

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:59:00 +0000

Fortune in cricket is a fickle landlord, always one session from changing the locks.

For a while at the Gymkhana Ground on Wednesday, Hyderabad held the keys, easing Punjab’s lead down with calm, methodical work. Then Vihaan Malhotra, a part-timer with a four-wicket spell, took it by storm and the home side was bundled out for 380, and the visitor was 51 runs to the good in their Ranji Trophy contest.

The proceedings began with a jolt for Punjab, as Umesh Yadav appeared to pick up a groin injury in the seventh over of day three. Ten overs later, it was Hyderabad’s turn to wince. Rahul Radesh (86, 195b, 9×4) tried to cut, got a thin edge, and Salil Arora pouched it behind the stumps.

K. Himateja then took charge, reaching his fifty in 108 balls. Almost against the run of play, Punjab landed a blow 15 minutes before lunch when Harjas Singh trapped Varun Goud leg before.

Then came the second session, and the match slipped from Hyderabad’s fingers like sand.

Uday Saharan turned to Vihaan for the first time in the match, and it proved a masterstroke. The 19-year-old struck with his second ball, trapping Himateja (81, 168b, 5×4, 3×6) leg-before. He later breached C.V. Milind’s defence, while Emanjot Singh replicated the same with Ruthik Yadav. Vihaan soon sent Tanay Thyagarajann packing, and the Punjab dugout erupted.

Amid the freefall, Pragnay Reddy stood defiant, lofting a six over extra cover to bring up his half-century. At the other end, Aniketh Reddy fell after a sharp catch by Uday at first slip.

Pragnay refused to ease off, clearing the boundary over cover and straight down the ground to keep Punjab guessing. But the urgency proved his undoing, holing out to substitute Sanveer Singh at long-on.

By stumps, Vihaan and Harnoor Singh patiently doubled Punjab’s lead to 108 runs.

Punjab – 1st innings: 431.

Hyderabad – 1st innings: Tanmay Agarwal c Jashanpreet b Harpreet 2, Abhirath Reddy c Salil b Umesh 97, Rahul Radesh c Salil b Harjas 86, K. Himateja lbw b Vihaan 81, Varun Goud lbw b Harjas 25, Pragnay Reddy c Sanvir b b Emanjot 65, C.V. Milind b Vihaan 2, Ruthik Yadav b Emanjot 1, Tanay Thyagarajann lbw b Vihaan 2, Aniketh Reddy c Uday b Vihaan 1, Rakshann Readdi (batting) 0; Extras (b-10, lb-7, nb-1): 18; Total (in 119.5 overs): 380.

Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-169, 3-234, 4-279, 5-343, 6-347, 7-348, 8-383, 9-365.

Punjab bowling: Umesh 15.4-4-32-1, Harpreet 36-2-139-1, Emanjot 34.5-7-86-2, Harjas 25.2-3-85-2, Uday 2-0-6-0, Vihaan 6-0-15-4.

Punjab – 2nd innings: Vihaan Malhotra (batting) 26, Harnoor Singh (batting) 27; Extras (b-4): 4; Total (for zero wickets in 24 overs): 57.

Hyderabad bowling: Milind 3-1-9-0, Ruthik 6-0-14-0, Tanay 9-0-21-0, Rakshann 4-1-7-0, Aniketh 2-0-2-0.

Published – October 28, 2026 08:17 pm IST

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Ranji Trophy 2026-27 | Denish and Sibsankar’s centuries propel Assam to 373

admin — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:07:00 +0000

Standing strong: Sibsankar remained not out on 143 in his regal innings.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

As the rain clouds dissipated, so did the batters’ hesitation, and Assam turned the tables on the second day of its Ranji Trophy round one match against Punjab at the New PCA Stadium here on Monday.

Denish Das (103, 186b, 15×4) and Sibsankar Roy (143 n.o., 295b, 20×4, 1×6) made the most of easing conditions and their 168-run partnership, which began at 23 for three on the opening day, catapulted Assam to 373.

After not adding a run for the opening 34 minutes, Sibsankar lapped up two overpitched deliveries from Umesh Yadav for straight- and square-driven boundaries. Though a flick off Gurnoor Brar was the only early boundary for Denish, he pocketed plenty by running between the wickets.

Stroke-filled: Denish’s 103 included 15 fours.
| Photo Credit:
FILE PHOTO: RITU RAJ KONWAR

It was the onset of spinners that really allowed them to assert control. Sibsankar pranced down to Emanjot Singh Chahal twice to hoist down the ground for 10 runs.

Denish was examined by Gurnoor’s short-ball ploy, with the traps set at deep fine-leg, deep square-leg, short-leg, short mid-wicket and short mid-on. Denish refrained from any extravagant shot and navigated the period.

However, shortly after his 181-ball century, he took a slightly longer stride on a defence, got an inside edge onto his pad and was caught at silly point.

Sibsankar lofted Harpreet down the ground to reach three figures in 204 balls. He was mindful not to let it slip away like Denish and allowed Sarupam Purkayastha (66, 87b, 7×4, 3×6) to take charge in their 92-run sixth-wicket partnership that prolonged Punjab’s toil.

Umesh picked three of the last five wickets, for which Assam could add only 42 runs, to complete his five-wicket haul (five for 70) and ensure Punjab did not have to field the entire day.

Openers Vihaan Malhotra and Harnoor Pannu safely played out two overs before stumps, and three no balls from Dipjyoti Saikia made sure Punjab had something on the board.

The scores: Assam — 1st innings: Nibir Deka c Salil b Gurnoor 0, Rishav Das b Umesh 0, Rajveer Singh c Salil b Umesh 11, Denish Das c Sidhu b Emanjot 103, Sibsankar Roy (not out) 143, Sumit Ghadigoankar lbw b Harpreet 28, Sarupam Purkayastha c Salil b Gurnoor 66, Amlanjyoti Das b Umesh 0, Mukhtar Hussain c Harjas b Umesh 11, Dipjyoti Saikia b Emanjot 4, Mohit Thakur b Umesh 1; Extras (lb-2, nb-1, w-3): 6; Total (117 overs): 373.

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-23, 4-191, 5-239, 6-331, 7-332, 8-348, 9-367.

Punjab bowling: Gurnoor 23-3-85-2, Umesh 24-7-70-5, Harpreet 24-4-88-1, Ramandeep 2-0-8-0, Emanjot 27-7-68-2, Harjas 13-1-43-0, Uday 4-1-9-0.

Punjab — 1st innings: Vihaan Malhotra (batting) 0, Harnoor Pannu (batting) 0; Extras (nb-3): 3; Total (for no loss in two overs): 3.

Assam bowling: Mukhtar 1-1-0-0, Dipjyoti 1-0-3-0.

Published – October 12, 2026 06:37 pm IST

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Ranji Trophy: Vihaan Malhotra’s four-wicket haul puts Punjab ahead of Hyderabad; Himateja and Rahul Radesh fall short of centuries

Ranji Trophy 2026-27 | Denish and Sibsankar’s centuries propel Assam to 373