Vihari's double ton punctures Goa

PANAJI: Hanuma Vihari scored a classy double century for Hyderabad to pour cold water on Goa's hopes of qualifying for the second phase of the Ranji Trophy.
Chasing a victory to boost their chances of qualification, if Goa were undone by Hyderabad's patience on the opening day, they had nothing to cheer on the second day as Vihari's unbeaten 201 seemed to have taken the match away from them.
Hyderabad declared their first innings at 514, losing six wickets in 171 overs.
"The first century will always remain special but this double (century) cannot be forgotten soon," said Vihari, the former junior international whose success with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) was no flash in the pan.
Hyderabad, starting from 234-3 at the end of the first day's play, started the morning's proceedings cautiously but with Vihari settling in, realisation dawned on the hosts that the youngster would not let it go in a hurry.
Still, despite Vihari's cautiousness and the array of shots that he came up with, there were chances for the hosts. Shadab Jakati missed the chance to send him back when on 115, missing a catch off his own bowling. Saurabh Bandekar played villain, putting down another catch of Buddhadeb Mangaldas when the Hyderabad batsman was on 132.
While Vihari was the single standout performer for Hyderabad, he had two strong partnerships that crippled Goa. At first, he shared a 137-run partnership for the fourth wicket with B Sandeep and then an unbeaten 172-run partnership with H Ahmed (78n.o.).
Goa, in part, had themselves to blame as no less than six catches were dropped.
Some of the catches were put down between lunch and tea when Hyderabad lost three wickets - Sandeep, Amol Shinde and S Quadri -- for a mere 18 runs.
Goa did not lose any wickets in the seven overs that remained for the day after Hyderabad had declared their innings. But with 365 needed to avoid follow-on, Goa are left with a mountain to climb.