It takes ability to play strokes, however one requires stamina, endurance, and resilience to construct an innings in sweltering warmth. Hima Teja and Aman Rao showcased that – in contrasting types – on Saturday as host TNCA President’s XI was made to work laborious by defending champion Hyderabad on the opening day of the Buchi Babu Invitational Match closing on the CSK-HPC floor in Chennai.
Hima scored a composed 97 off 221 balls after Aman had set the platform with an attacking 85 off 98 balls, guiding Hyderabad to 296 for 5 at stumps.
Whereas Hima constructed his innings on endurance and precision – driving, flicking, sweeping, and chopping – Aman introduced his intent from the outset, putting two drives within the opening over after Hyderabad opted to bat.
The opener peppered the sector with 4 sixes and 11 fours, making full use of the laborious new ball and the flat pitch. On 81, he drove B. Trilok Nag straight down the bottom for 4 off the primary ball after lunch, however in the identical over, he was caught at slips making an attempt one other expansive stroke.
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Trilok was TNCA’s most threatening bowler of the day, extracting tempo and motion with the cherry. His management introduced him two early wickets in successive overs – cleansing up Nitish Reddy P (21) with a nip-backer earlier than having Rahul Radesh caught 4 balls into his innings.
Hima and Aman’s 85-run partnership for the third wicket steadied Hyderabad. The momentum was carried ahead by skipper Rahul Singh (31 off 100 balls), who dug in for 183 deliveries alongside Hima. The pair added 61 runs earlier than Vidyuth P trapped the captain in entrance quickly after Tea.
Varun Goud then joined Hima, and the 2 — with risk-free strokeplay — added 90 runs extra. Simply when it appeared the duo would end the day unbeaten, Hima charged off spinner Hemchudeshan J, missed a crazy supply, and fell three runs in need of his century. The wicket gave the host a large respite in an in any other case tiring day.
Revealed on Sep 06, 2025