Guj draws against Hyd, Bhatt scores gritty 186

Hyderabad: Rujul Bhatt (186) missed out on a double hundred but his side Gujarat ran away with three points as their Ranji Trophy Super League group A match against Hyderabad ended in a draw here on Friday.

Gujarat, who began at a solid 263 for four, overcame three early jolts to score a huge 536 in reply to Hyderabad’s first innings total of 236.

Bhatt and Ashraf Makda (53) raised a gritty 128-run stand for the eighth wicket to help their team consolidtae the first innings lead, 300 in total.

Hyderabad played just two overs in their second essay and managed to survive both without any loss.

Alfred Absolem dismissed overnight batsman Digant Popat (4) in the fourth over of the day and then Mohammed Khader accounted for the other Bhavik Thaker (54) and Salil Yadav (0) to leave Gujarat at 305 for seven.

The end of the visitors looked imminent but Bhatt and Makda dashed Hyderabad’s hope by their resolute batting.

Bhatt’s 186 came off 250 balls with 16 fours and one shot over the fence and Makda faced 136 balls for his 53 which contained five boundaries and two sixes.

Bhatt was on course for a well deserved double hundred but once Makda departed off Ravi Teja it was difficult to reach the 200-run mark with the tail-enders.

Gujarat earned three points on the virtue of their first innings lead while Hyderabad had to be content with one.

Bureau Report