Rajasthan defeat Andhra

Hyderabad: Andhra faltered in the season opener when they went down to Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group E match.
Rajasthan registered an emphatic 158-run win on the fourth and final day of the match in Tiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Chasing an improbable target of 368 for victory, Andhra were bowled out 209 in 53.3 overs. Shubham Sharma took four for 32 and Aniket Choudhary scalped three for 50 to bowl out Andhra.
Resuming at 100 for four on the final day and needed 268 more runs, Andhra's slim hopes of winning the tie evaporated when Ricky Bhui fell to Choudhary. He added only eight runs to his overnight score of 31.
Rajasthan quickly dismissed the other overnight batsman Yara Sandeep. Anirudh had Sandeep caught by Tanveer-ul-Haq for 43. Suddenly from 120/4, Andhra slumped to 120/6.
Defeat looked inevitable but Pinnati Tapaswi and Manish Golamaru raised hopes when they added 67 for the seventh wicket. But once they were out, it was all over for Andhra. Tapaswi made 44 with six fours and one six, while Manish scored 29.
The last three wickets including that of Tapaswi fell in quick succession and Andhra could add only one run. Sharma picked up two more wickets while Ul-Haq ended Andhra’s innings when he dismissed CV Stephen for a duck.