Enchanting rivalry between Hyderabad and Andhra in Ranji Trophy matches.... HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad-Andhra rivalry may not have a glorious history like the Ashes between England and Australia or may not generate passion like the India-Pakistan encounters but it has its own charm and thrill. Over the years, the clashes between the cousins have turned into bitter contests but it was not the case always. Their rivalry goes back to the 1954-55 season when they met for the first time in Ranji Trophy. It turned out to be a miserable one for Andhra as a strong Hyderabad side recorded a crushing innings and 107-run win. Hyderabad, who were a strong side in the zone with a lot of quality players, were always one up on their poor cousins. In the early days, the matches between the teams turned out to be one-sided affairs with Hyderabad coming up trumps most of the time. In the first 19 matches played between them from 1954-55 to 1975-76, Hyderabad won 16 of them outright. The other three ties ended in a draw with Hyderabad taking the lead twice and sharing points in the other one as the first innings was not completed. However, in the 1976-77 season, Andhra managed to make history against Hyderabad by grabbing the first innings lead in the 20th encounter between the teams which was played at the Exhibition Ground in Eluru. Hyderabad skipper ML Jaisimha won the toss and invited Andhra to bat first and the hosts reached 220 for eight with late D Meher Baba topscoring with 61. H Ramprasad made 34 and skipper, late RVVK Prasad, got 31. The second days play was washed out and Andhra lost the remaining two wickets for the addition of nien more runs. Hyderabad had a disastrous start and lost six wickets with just 38 on the board. However, Jaisimha and all-rounder P Jyothi Prasad added 57 for the eighth wicket to help Hyderabad reach 120. The visitors, however, struck back with a vengeance to reduced Andhra to 25 for five before play was called off. It was a good match but rain played a big part in it. After the second days play was washed out, the wicket turned out to be a very different one, said Jyothi Prasad, who made 30 in that game. We had lost quick wickets and when I went in to bat, Jaisimha told me to just hang in there and not to try anything fancy. I just did that and we added some runs but it was not enough, he added. But once Jai fell, I didnt have much confidence in the others and tried to score quickly. I fell and the innings closed, he said. There is not much that I remember but we tried to hit back in the second innings but there was no time left to do much, Prasad, who has been Hyderabads best pacer till date, said. We were too young that time. It was my second match and therefore the memories are a bit faint. Rain played a big factor in the ultimate result of the match. In fact, the collector had to get sand from Rajahmundry or Kovur to get the game going, former Andhra skipper K Bhaskar Ramamurthy said. We didnt even realize that we had taken the lead against Hyderabad for the first time. It was just another match for us. It was only later that we realized our achievement in that match. This inculcated a belief in the players that with sustained effort we could achieve great things. That helped us to do better in the following years. But the biggest achievement was in the year 1986-87 season when we not only took the lead against Hyderabad but also went on to win the South Zone championship, Ramamurthy, who led Andhra that season, said. From then on, Andhra began to give the other teams a run for their money in the Zone.TOI
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 06:16:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015