It was so near and so far for Hydrabad as they missed a golden opportunity to make it to the semifinal, losing to Mumbai by just 30 runs in the exciting quarterfinal encounter at Raipur today.
Needing 111 runs on the final day with three wickets in hand, Hyderabad started positively, with the overnight not out batsmen Anirudh and Milingd fighting out in the middle. They collapsed suddenly towards the end after Milind’s dismissal like they did in their first innings, when they looked like getting a big lead.
It was again the seasoned all-rounder Abhishk Nayar who did most of the damage, picking four wickets. Overall he had nine-wicket haul, his best so far in first class career. It has been good season for him as he has batted and bowled superbly. Mumbai will now meet Tamil Nadu in the semifinals beginning on the new year’s day.
But there have been so many plus points for Hyderabad this season, comparing to the disastrous one they had last year. Milind bowled and batted well, while Anirudh and Tanmay showed good consistency. And the experience of Badrinath, who has led the side came in pretty handy.
In the other quarterfinal match Gujarat’s Samith Gohel set a new first class record, carrying his bat through, making a brilliant 359. The previous record stood on Bobby Albey’s name. The Surrey player had entered into the record books way back in 1899.
Gujrat will meet Jharkhand in other semifinal match.
By Sudheer Mahavadi – DD Commentator
