Buchi Babu final | Hima Teja, Aman Rao propel Hyderabad

What could have been a special 24th birthday for Hima Teja turned into a slight disappointment at the fag end of the opening day of the Buchi Babu tournament final at the CSK-High Performance Centre here on Saturday.

Great composure

The Hyderabad batter showed great composure to get within three runs of what would have been a fine century against TNCA President’s XI before a rush of blood to reach the landmark on his special day cost him his wicket.

Nonetheless, his superb 97 (221b, 13×4, 1×6) ensured defending champion Hyderabad finished on 296 for five at stumps against the TN side.

Electing to bat, Hyderabad got off to a good start, thanks to opener Aman Rao’s free-flowing 85 of just 95 balls that included 11 boundaries and four maximums.

Delightful knock

On a good batting surface, Aman played some delightful strokes against the TN pacers H. Trilok Nag and C.V. Achyuth.

His knock was filled with pleasing drives through covers, and when the pacers pitched short, he pulled them over leg-side for maximums.

But immediately after lunch, Aman was caught at first slip when he tried an expansive drive off Trilok Nag, who was the pick of the TN bowlers with figures of three for 59.

Hima Teja, at the other end, then held the innings together. He was nimble on his feet against the spinners, using the depth of the crease to cut while also stepping out to drive down the ground.

In the final session of the day, Hima Teja stepped up the scoring alongside Varun Goud as the duo added 90 for the fifth wicket.

However, in the 88th over, Hima Teja charged at J. Hemchudeshan, but was foxed by a sharp off-break and was stumped.

The scores: Hyderabad 296/5 in 90 overs (Aman Rao 85, Hima Teja 97, Varun Goud 45 batting) vs TNCA President’s XI.

Toss: Hyderabad.