Andhra tailender K.V. Sasikanth took on Rajasthan’s best bowlers Aniket Choudhary and Shubham Singh to score a rapid 34 but his cameo came a bit too late as Rajasthan took control of the Ranji Trophy Group E encounter at the KCA-St. Xavier’s College ground here on Friday. Sasikanth’s carefree innings was in sharp contrast to the timidity showed by the Andhra top-order, who allowed the Rajasthan bowlers to dominate.
Rajasthan grabbed a crucial 51-run first innings lead after bowling out Andhra for 224. At stumps on the second day, Rajasthan had extended the lead to 148 runs, having scored 97 for two in the second innings.
Mahipal Lomror (45 batting) and Aditya Gharwal (35 batting), in contrasting styles, added 53 runs for the third wicket after the openers perished cheaply. While Lomror dropped anchor, Aditya counter-attacked as the third-wicket pair increased Rajasthan’s lead. To compound Andhra’s woes, Aditya was reprieved twice.
