Himachal Pradesh rout Hyderabad; Andhra down Uttar Pradesh

HYDERABAD: After a win in the first round, Hyderabad batsmen dished out a pathetic display to crash to a humiliating 147-run loss to Himachal Pradesh in the BCCI's U-23 one-day tournament in Dehradun on Friday.
Hyderabad skipper Abhirath Reddy won the toss and asked Himachal to bat first. Kartikeya Kak sent back Sidhant Purohit (0) with just 6 on the board but fellow opener Ravi Thakur steadied the innings with a 58-run stand for the second wicket with Shubhum Arora (10).Hyderabad bowlers hit back strongly and reduced Himachal to 88 for six before Nitin Sharma and Ayush Jamwal led the recovery.
The duo added 129 for the seventh wicket as Himachal ended up with 246 for nine. Nitin scored 75 (81b; 8x4, 2x6) and Ayush made 54 (69b; 8x4). Kartikeya, Praneeth Raj and Hitesh Yadav took two wickets apiece.
Hyderabad had a disastrous start as skipper Abhirath and opener Mohd Junaid Ali failed to open their scoring. Shreyas Vala (4) too went soon and Hyderabad were reduced to 14 for three. A Varun Goud (29) and Rahul Buddhi (26) tried to undo the damage but after adding 36 to the total Varun departed. Thereafter there was a virtual parade as wickets tumbled in quick succession. Hyderabad were shot out for 99 in 27.1 overs.
Gnaneshwar powers Andhra home
Skipper CR Gnaneshwar struck a century to steer Andhra to a four-wicket win over Uttar Pradesh at the Jaipuria Vidhyalaya ground in Jaipur.
Batting first, Uttar Pradesh batsmen failed to capitalise on the starts that they got and ended up with 280 on the board. After the early loss of Priyanshu Srivastav (7), UP rallied through Aniket Seth (35) and Madhav Kaushik (55). The duo added 93 for the second wicket before they perished in quick succession. Karan Sharma (66) and Sandeep Tomar then took the score to 180 before the latter departed. Karan and Sameer Choudhary added 73 for the fifth wicket before Karan fell.
In reply, Andhra were reduced to 54 for two but Gnaneshwar and Karan Shinde steered the side to safety. The duo added 152 for the third wicket before Karan fell for a 82-ball 77 (6x4, 2x6). Gnaneshwar, who made a 120-ball 122 (12x4, 6x3) departed with the side needing 24 more to win. Pathuri Manohar (20 no) and B Vinay Kumar (24no) completed the formalities to pocket full points. With two wins from two matches under their belt, Andhra are at the top of the table.
Brief scores: Himachal Pradesh 246/9 in 50 overs (Ravi Inder Thakur 45, Nitin Sharma 75, Ayush Jamwal 54; Karthikeya Kar 2/57, S Praneeth Raj 2/58, C Hitesh Yadav 2/25) bt Hyderabad 99 in 27.1 overs (A Varun Goud 29, Rahul Buddhi 26; Arpit Guleria 2/28, Vaibhav Arora 2/18, Ayush Jamwal 2/9, Apoorva Walia 3/13). Himachal Pradesh 4, Hyderabad 0.
Uttar Pradesh 280/7 in 50 overs (Aniket Seth 35, M Amit Kaushik 55, Karan Sharma 66, Sandeep Tomar 35, Sameer Choudhary 41; Maram Reddy 2/61, Shaik Mohd Rafi 2/68) lost to Andhra 284/6 in 49 overs (CR Gnaneshwar 122, Karan Shinde 77, P Prudhvi Manohar 20no, B Vinay Kumar 24no; Shubham Mavi 4/55). Andhra 4, UP 0.