All-round Andhra stage gritty fightback

After letting Gujarat Cricket Association bag the honours on the opening day, Andhra Cricket Association produced an all-round effort to keep the game in balance at the end of the second day in the final of the Dr (Capt) K Thimmappiah Memorial cricket tournament here at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Wednesday.

The Andhra bowlers had toiled hard with very little success on the first day but got their act together to bundle out Gujarat for 335. Gujarat, resuming from 234/3, could add a mere 101 runs. However, Manpreet Juneja’s men were helped by a 30-run penalty handed to Andhra for slow over rate and Gujarat’s first innings total was lifted to 365.

Right-arm medium pacer Karthik Raman, who had bagged two wickets on Tuesday, accounted for two more batsmen to finish with figures of 4/51. Shoaib Mohammed Khan (2/81) and K V Sasikanth (2/48) also chipped in with two wickets apiece.

Andhra skipper K S Bharath, who is enjoying a dream run in the tournament, slammed a fifty to propel his side to 121/2 at stumps.

Earlier in the day, Gujarat lost a wicket on the fourth delivery of the very first over when left-hander Rujul Bhatt miscued a pull of B Aiyyappa. Kathan Patel, who essayed a patient 82 on Tuesday, got a sharp one from Karthik and was trapped in front. The right-hander added just six runs to his overnight total.

Chirag Gandhi (34) and Dhruv Raval (36) got starts but failed to capitalise as Andhra bagged wickets at regular intervals. Andhra though were five overs short of the over rate and were handed a penalty.

In response, Andhra began well with Bharath timing the ball well. Andhra went to tea with 73 on the board without losing any wickets but Gujarat struck early in the final session when Mehul Patel removed Bharath caught and bowled for 54 (73b, 9x4). Bharath drove one straight but Mehul showed great reflexes to pull of a fine catch on his follow through. Gujarat struck again when left-arm spinner Aashav Panchal dismissed the other opener D B Prasanth Kumar (27) leg before wicket. Stylish right-hander Jyothi Sai Krishna (22 batting) struck a couple of stylish drives off the pacers to keep the momentum with Andhra.

Brief scores: Gujarat Cricket Association: 365 all out in 111 overs (Kathan Patel 88, Samit Gohel 39, Bhargav Merai 72, Chirag Gandhi 34, Dhruv Raval 36; Karthik Raman 4-51, K V Sasikanth 2-48, Shoaib Mohammed Khan 2-81) vs Andhra Cricket Association: 121/2 in 43 overs (KS Bharath 54, D B Prasanth Kumar 27).