Hyderabad beat Kerala by 8 wkts in Vinoo Mankad Trophy

PANAJI: Skipper Akshat Reddy led from the front with an unbeaten 61 while A Harshavardan (4/18) wracked havoc with the ball to guide Hyderabad to a comfortable eight wicket victory over Kerala in the a south zone match of the Under-19 Vinoo Mankad limited overs tournament on Wednesday.
Put in to bat, Kerela innings fell apart like nine pins and folded up for just 99 in 29.3 overs with Sanjeev Samson (46) putting up a lone fight.
Off-spinner Harshavardan was ably supported by Ashih Reddy, who took two wickets, while Kanashk Naidu, Sandip Gaud and Akash Bhandari grabbed one wicket each.
Needing 100 for victory, Hyderabad overhauled the target in 26.1 overs, losing only two wickets in the form of opener Ashish Reddy for a duck and Achintya Rao (28).
But captain Akshat, who hit eight fours in his 65-ball knock, added 78 runs for the second wicket along with Avhinta to complete the formality.
For Kerala, Mohammed Nasif and MS Akhil scalped one wicket each.
With Wednesday's victory, Hyderabad opened their account with five points, including a bonus point, from a win and a loss. Kerala have lost both their matches.