Andhra’s Srikar Bharat struck a patient century to prevent Hyderabad from running away with full points as their Group C Ranji Trophy cricket match ended in a draw here today.
Resuming at their overnight score of 24 for no loss, Andhra scored 215 for two in 82 overs in their second innings on the fourth and final day’s play at the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.
Bharat struck an unbeaten 130 off 260 balls with the help of 12 fours and added 149 runs for the second wicket with skipper Mohammad Kaif (46).
Earlier, on the third day, despite a patient century from opener Prasanth Kumar (124), Andhra failed to avoid the follow-on as Hyderabad bowlers made sure that their batsmen’s effort did not go waste.
Responding to Hyderabad’s 522 in the four-day encounter, the Kaif-led Andhra had slumped from their overnight score of 121 for no loss to 369 all out and fell short by just three runs to avoid follow-on.
Brief scores:
Hyderabad: 522 all out in 148.4 overs
Andhra: 369 all out in 107.4 overs and 215 for two in 82 overs (Srikar Bharat 130 not out, Mohammad Kaif 46, 11 not out; Ravi Kiran 0-8).