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