Buchi Babu 2025: Hima, Aman put Hyderabad in control against TNCA President’s XI on Day 1

It takes skill to play strokes, but one requires stamina, patience, and resilience to build an innings in sweltering heat. Kodimela Himateja and Aman Rao showcased that – in contrasting styles – on Saturday as host TNCA President’s XI was made to work hard by defending champion Hyderabad on the opening day of the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament final at the CSK-HPC ground in Chennai.

Himateja scored a composed 97 off 221 balls after Aman had set the platform with an attacking 85 off 98 balls, guiding Hyderabad to 296 for five at stumps.

While Himateja built his innings on patience and precision – driving, flicking, sweeping, and cutting – Aman announced his intent from the outset, striking two drives in the opening over after Hyderabad opted to bat.

The opener peppered the field with four sixes and 11 fours, making full use of the hard new ball and the flat pitch. On 81, he drove B. Trilok Nag straight down the ground for four off the first ball after lunch, but in the same over, he was caught at slips attempting another expansive stroke.

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Trilok was TNCA’s most threatening bowler of the day, extracting pace and movement with the cherry. His control brought him two early wickets in successive overs – cleaning up Nitish Reddy P (21) with a nip-backer before having Rahul Radesh caught four balls into his innings.

Himateja and Aman’s 85-run partnership for the third wicket steadied Hyderabad. The momentum was carried forward by skipper Rahul Singh (31 off 100 balls), who dug in for 183 deliveries alongside Himateja. The pair added 61 runs before Vidyuth P trapped the captain in front soon after Tea.

Varun Goud then joined Himateja, and the two — with risk-free strokeplay — added 90 runs more. Just when it seemed the duo would finish the day unbeaten, Himateja charged off spinner Hemchudeshan J, missed a loopy delivery, and fell three runs short of his century. The wicket gave the host a massive respite in an otherwise tiring day.

Published on Sep 06, 2025