Chhattisgarh beats Andhra to secure Ranji Trophy victory

Raipur | Correspondent: Chhattisgarh defeated Andhra in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match held at the Devineni Venkata Ramana Praneeth ground. 

Chasing target of 179 runs, Chhattisgarh reached the goal in 35.1 overs, losing five wickets in the process. 

Chhattisgarh had a slow start to their chase, with opener Ayush Pandey getting out after scoring 11 runs. Captain Anuj Tiwari then steadied the innings, playing a resillient knock of 60 runs off 73 balls (including 7 fours and 1 six).

Amandeep Khare contributed 30 runs, while Ajay Mandal added 28. Ultimately, Dev Aditya Singh remained unbeaten on 34 off just 25 balls, guiding the team to victory. For Andhra, Saurabh Kumar took three wickets for 55 runs. 

Earlier, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, Andhra were bundled out for 231 in their first innings. Seeram Rahul was the top scorer for Andhra with 89 runs. Chhattisgarh’s spinners—Jayant Yadav (4/75), Ajay Mandal (3/56), and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (2/66)—claimed a combined total of nine wickets.

In response, Chhattisgarh scored 237 runs in their first innings, securing a slender 6-run lead. Key contributions included an unbeaten 89 from Amandeep Khare and 34 runs from Anuj Tiwari. For Andhra, Tripurana Vijay took four wickets, and Saurabh Kumar claimed three.

In their second innings, Andhra scored 184 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 32 overs before declaring. Captain Ricky Bhui remained unbeaten on 72, and Karan Shinde stayed not out on 53, setting Chhattisgarh a target of 179 runs. Chhattisgarh achieved this target easily, thanks to Tiwari, Khare, Mandal, and Dev Aditya Singh.