Ranji Trophy 2025-26, Round 2: Hyderabad seamers rule the roost against Pondicherry on rain-marred Day 3
On a cool Monday morning, Pondicherry’s batters capitulated to the heat of Hyderabad’s bowling line-up as the host ended the rain-marred third day of the Ranji Trophy Group-D fixture trailing by 343 runs with two wickets left in the first innings.
On a pitch that saw the opposition’s spinners pick nine wickets at the CAP Ground 2 here, Hyderabad’s seamers B. Punnaiah and Chama Milind flipped the script by nabbing three scalps for just five runs to wreck Pondicherry in the first hour.
Opener Ganga Sridhar Raju chipped to cover off Punnaiah, before Mohit Kale was leg-before by a delivery that seamed in, though the right-hander signalled he had edged it.
Overnight batter Anand Singh Bais and southpaw Akash Kargave went into a shell, and endured a near-fatal miscommunication when the latter sent Bais back from halfway down the pitch. The fielders latched onto the apparent jitters with a litany of taunts. ‘ Kisiko khelne mein interest nahi hai (they are not keen on batting)’,” they chirped.
In the next over, Kargave was castled, shouldering arms to left-armer Milind. With Pondicherry reeling at 35 for four, Hyderabad skipper Rahul Singh sensed a quick denouement and brought nine fielders inside the imaginary 30-yard circle.
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But when both Bais and Siddhaant Addhatrao were handed a reprieve each—at cover and in the slips, respectively—in the same over, bowled by Milind, Rahul couldn’t help but throw his cap in frustration.
Just as Bais and Addhatrao were building a promising alliance by taking the spinners on, a horrible mix-up had both batters scrambling to the striker’s end, leaving the latter fuming as he stormed off the field.
The run-out opened the floodgates again as Tanay Thyagarajan and G. Anikethreddy picked the next three wickets for three runs, before the heavens opened decisively before lunch.
Published on Oct 27, 2025
