When T. Ravi Teja danced down the track to pacer M. Mohammed off the second ball of the morning, an action-packed day beckoned.

Under hot and humid conditions on the final day of the Buchi Babu semifinal between TNCA President’s XI and Hyderabad here on Thursday (September 5, 2024) the visitors made their intentions clear by scoring 46 runs in six overs. They declared at 273 for nine, setting the hosts a target of 260 which they fell short by 65-runs.

C.V. Milind (53, 88b, 4×4, 1×6) delivered again for the side, forging a 92-run eighth-wicket alliance with Ravi Teja (42, 68b, 2×4). Mohammed dismissed Milind and Ravi Teja to bag his first five-for for this edition.

In a tricky chase, openers S. Radhakrishnan (40, 53b, 3×4) and Vimal Khumar were full of confidence and threatened to take the game away from Hyderabad.

Their 60-run opening stand was broken by left-arm spinner Aniket Reddy who sent back Vimal and also added the wickets of Radhakrishnan and A. Badrinath.

President’s XI slipped to 84 for four when the other left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan removed Andre Siddharth, the architect of the team’s win over Gujarat in the previous match.

The drama unfolded right after the lunch break when Aniket’s loopy delivery pitched on the rough and turned square. The entire Hyderabad team jumped, screamed, and surrounded the umpire as he remained unmoved to the caught-behind appeal against K.T.A. Madhava Prasad.