Rahul, Himateja send Pondicherry bowlers on a leather hunt

Under overcast skies and amidst plenty of chirping from the Pondicherry fielders, southpaws Rahul Singh and Kodimela Himateja made hay as Hyderabad piled on 255 for one on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group-D match at the CAP Siechem Ground here on Saturday.

Skipper Rahul and Himateja’s distinct temperaments complemented each other during their 167-run alliance for the second wicket, before bad light and a heavy downpour had the final say with 20 overs remaining.

Rahul, batting with the quintessential flair and elegance of a left-hander, reached his ton off 144 balls, with 11 fours and a six.

As a sign of things to come, Rahul had opened his account with a four. However, his innings should have ended soon, when off-spinner Jayant Yadav had him caught at silly point on four off a front-foot no-ball.

Rahul offered few chances after that blip. He stepped out and lofted debutant off-spinner Karan Kannan for a four over cover and took a toll on the 23-year-old after lunch by depositing him for a six down the ground. When Kannan dropped it shorter, Rahul pulled him to midwicket and cut him behind point for two fours.

Rahul didn’t spare seamer Puneet Datey either, driving him on the up and then slicing the ball through cover—his preferred region. He added to his counterpart Sagar Udeshi’s frustration by reverse-sweeping the left-arm spinner to the fine-leg boundary. When Aman Khan tried to leverage his height by employing a short-ball barrage, Rahul insouciantly pulled the medium-pacer to the square-leg boundary.

Himateja took a cue from his skipper after trudging to 23 off 77 balls. He carted Jayant for two sixes in an over before bringing up a 105-ball half-century.

Earlier, Tanmay Agarwal retired hurt on 36 due to cramps and Abhirath Reddy was castled by one that kept low before Rahul and Himateja took over.

The scores: Hyderabad — 1st innings: Tanmay Agarwal (retired hurt) 36, Abhirath Reddy b Udeshi 35, Rahul Singh (batting) 114, K. Himateja (batting) 62; Extras: (lb-4, nb-4): 8; Total (for one wkt. in 70 overs): 255.

Fall of wicket: 1-88.

Pondicherry bowling: Datey 10-1-46-0, Udeshi 17-1-64-1, Aman 9-0-44-0, Jayant 23-4-60-0, Kannan 8-0-30-0, Kargave 3-0-7-0.

Toss: Hyderabad.