Teja puts Hyd on top

Visakhapatnam: Andhra surrendered the initiative to Hyderabad on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match at the PVG Raju ACA sports complex, Chintalavalsa, Vizianagaram on Tuesday. Opener Abhishek Reddy hit a fine 81 to save the day for Andhra.Hyderabad put Andhra in and restricted the hosts to a paltry 135 with pacer T Ravi Teja taking five for 34 and Kartikeya Kak three. The 28-year-old Teja, who had a match haul of nine wickets in the previous match against Assam, continued his fine form to record his fifth five-for in his 23rd first-class match. Andhra had a sedate start and the collapse started in the 16th over with the score at 36 when Gnaneshwar fell to a doubtful decision as he was declared caught behind. GH Vihari (2) and KS Bharat (5) were claimed by Teja and Kartikeya while Ricky Bhui (6) was run out. The rest came and went even as Abhishek Reddy defied the Hyderabad attack. K Nithish Kumar Reddy (13) was the only other batter to record double figures.Hyderabad started their reply with confidence. In-form captain Tanmay Agarwal and debutant Pragnay Reddy (17) put on 53 for the first wicket before KV Sasikanth separated them. Soon Nitish Kumar Reddy claimed K Rohit Rayudu and debutant pacer K Sudarshan had the satisfaction of removing Tanmay as Hyderabad closed the day at 79 for three. Brief scores: Andhra 135 in 51.1 overs (Abhishek Reddy 81; T Ravi Teja 5/34, Kartikeya Kak 3/31) vs Hyderabad 79/3 in 30 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 35).