By Admin 
An eerie sense of deja vu enveloped Rajasthan on day one of its Ranji Trophy clash against Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Saturday.
Last year, Rahul Radesh scored his maiden First Class century against the side in the tournament at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. A year and one day later, he was once again the thorn in Rajasthan’s side, rescuing Hyderabad from a spot of bother in the Elite Group D fixture.
For all the pre-match talk of a batting-friendly surface and maximising familiar conditions, Hyderabad stumbled fairly early after opting to bat. Rajasthan bowlers were miserly at the start, keeping the squeeze on the openers. Tight lines and lengths from Aniket Choudhary and Akash Singh put Hyderabad on the defensive.
The home side lost Tanmay Agarwal – falling to a sharp return catch by Akash – and Abhirath Reddy, the architect of the side’s win against Himachal Pradesh, within 11 overs. Skipper Rahul Singh and K. Himateja then patiently rebuilt the innings with a 80-run stand before the latter was sent packing by the wily leg-spin of Rahul Chahar.
The Hyderabad captain brought up a gritty half-century before Ashok sent him back at the stroke of lunch.
Rajasthan struck early post lunch with Aniket removing Varun Goud. The visitor’s dugout’s loud celebrations eventually faded to silence, with Rahul Radesh linking up well with Rohit Rayudu.
Deepak Hooda’s missed catch at second slip, when Rahul Radesh was on 47, proved costly in the end, with the 22-year-old remaining unbeaten to help Hyderabad stabilise.
Rajasthan fought back, dismissing Rohit, who fell three short of a fifty, and C.V. Milind in the final session, but the home side finished just shy of 300 on an attritional day.
The scores: Hyderabad – 1st innings: Tanmay Agarwal c&b Akash 6, Abhirath Reddy c Kunal b Ashok 9, K. Himateja c Kunal b Rahul 39, Rahul Singh Gahlaut c Kunal b Ashok 55, Varun Goud c Salman b Aniket 23, Rahul Radesh (batting) 85, Rohit Rayudu c Kunal b Sachin 47, C.V. Milind c Kunal b Aniket 14, Tanay Thyagarajann (batting) 5; Extras (nb-1, b-4, lb-5, w-2): 12; Total (for 7 wkts. in 89 overs): 295.
Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-21, 3-101, 4-121, 5-101, 6-267, 7-287.
Rajasthan bowling: Aniket 16-1-35-2, Akash 14-3-38-1, Ashok 15-1-61-2, Ajay 21-0-60-0, Rahul 19-0-77-1, Sachin 4-0-15-1.