HYDERABAD, INDIA: Spin twins Tanay Thyagarajan and Aniketh Reddy sealed a massive victory by an innings and 40 runs for Hyderabad in their maiden Ranji Trophy 2026-27 encounter against Tripura at the Gymkhana, Hyderabad, on Tuesday, October 13. Hyderabad wrapped the four-day game up in just three days.
Batting first on a red soil surface after the historic venue was relaid and its true nature changed beyond comprehension, Tripura could last a mere 44 overs, getting all out for 144 just after lunch. Aniketh returned with figures of 5-21 in seven overs, with opener Bikramkumar Das offering sole resistance with 50 off 107 deliveries.
His fellow opener Hrituraj Roy contributed 33, but Thyagarajan assisted Aniketh by picking up 3-37 in his 11 overs, and helped the home team bowl their opponents out quickly. Coming out to bat, Hyderabad built a strong partnership of 60 runs before losing opener Abhirath Reddy for 32.
Rahul Singh and Pragnay Reddy fell six runs later, but veteran opener Tanmay Agarwal continued to construct a 122-ball 54, taking the help of just two boundaries during his stay at the crease. Debutant Ruthik Yadav impressed the most with his composure in the middle, scoring 61 off 150 deliveries, using five boundaries.
The young all-rounder, who had picked up a wicket earlier, took his time to get used to the turning conditions before using a wide variety of strokes to decimate the Tripura bowling attack. For the visitors, off-spinner Sandip Sarkar returned with 8-96, but not before Hyderabad had amassed 294 and a lead of 160 runs.
“I was excited to start the season on a positive note” – Hyderabad spinner Aniketh Reddy
In the second innings, the visitors imploded and were bowled out for a mere 120 inside 42 overs. Left-arm spinner Thyagarajan was the hero for the hosts this time, returning with 6-52. Debutant Yadav scalped one, and captain Mohammed Siraj picked up two wickets to assist Thyagarajan’s efforts.
Aniketh, who led the charge for the home team in the first innings, was understandably elated with his performance. Speaking to the Tribune after the match, the 25-year-old explained Hyderabad’s strategy of introducing spin in just the fourth over of the first innings.
“I was very excited to start the season on a positive note. The pitch wasn’t that bad. It was challenging. Initially, the wicket was playing well. They [Tripura] could have easily posted a total of 300. On a red soil surface, you have a bit of moisture, because of which the ball holds up for a while and then turns. Because of the moisture, we wanted to try a spinner [early on in the innings],” said Aniketh.
The left-arm spinner also mentioned how getting a lot of game time had helped him remain in prime shape and be well prepared for the Ranji Trophy.
“Before the season, we played four to five four-day games. So that helped us. It helped me particularly because I was bowling a lot of long spells. In the HCA Super League, I bowled a good number of overs. I think I bowled around 130 to 150 overs in all these matches. In Hyderabad, there were three Super League games, and then we played a friendly game against Kerala. We also went to Bengal to train, but it was raining a lot there, so we came back. We also played an intra-squad game at the NFC Cricket Ground,” he signed off.
Hyderabad will now travel to Vizianagaram to take on their feisty neighbours Andhra in their next Ranji Trophy match, starting on October 18.
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Cover image courtesy: Special Arrangement – Aniketh Reddy
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