G Hanuma Vihari slams triple ton; Jiwanjot, Khare on top

Hyderabad: Andhra captain G. Hanuma Vihari’s pyrotechnics proved to be huge as he hammered a triple ton along with Ricky Bhui who slammed a ton as Andhra declared at 584/5 in the Ranji Trophy Day 2 of the Group C match against Odisha being played at Vizianagaram.

Jittery Odisha bowlers bowed down before Vihari belligerent innings as they couldn’t trap him. Vihari’s unbeaten 302 came in 456 balls which includes 29 boundaries and two maximums.

The in-form captain grew in confidence in company of Bhui as he also contributed a century in 144 balls with nine times ball racing to the boundary and five maximums.

Vihari and Bhui’s stand of 208 runs took a toll on Odisha bowlers.

Pradhan picked up two wickets for Odisha while Poddar, Dhiraj Singh and Mohanty took a wicket apiece.

In reply, Odisha started their first innings after Andhra declared a long innings at 584/4. S.P. Pattnaik and Natraj Behra came in as openers but in the fourth over Natraj had to return back to the pavilion as Bhatt trapped him with a leg before. At stumps, Odisha were 32/1 in 12 overs.

Meanwhile in another Group C match, B. Indrajith scored an unbeaten ton to lead Tamil Nadu’s fightback as the team finished at 239/5 in response to Mumbai’s 374 at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC.

Indrajith who was batting on 105 and young all-rounder M.S. Washington Sundar who scored 69 rescued Tamil Nadu from a rather precarious 69/4 after stitching a brilliant partnership of 157 runs.

Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 314/7, the home side added 60 more to their total with the Akash Parkar (33 not out) and Aditya S. Dhumal (13) putting on 35 crucial runs for the 10th wicket stand.