Hyderabad took control early in the day but couldn’t finish the job. Chhattisgarh recovered from 94/4 to reach 279/7 in 87 overs on day one of their Elite Group B match at the Gymkhana Ground.
Chhattisgarh won the toss and batted. Pacer Rakshann Readdi removed opener Aayush Pandey for 17 in the ninth over, caught behind by Pragnay Reddy. Anuj Tiwary and Mayank Verma then added 65, but left-arm spinner G. Anikethreddy dismissed Verma and Sanjeet Desai in the 26th over to leave the visitors 87/3. Captain Amandeep Khare fell for a duck to Tanay Thyagarajan, caught at slip, and Chhattisgarh were 94/4 in 28.5 overs.
The home side then lost its grip. Anuj Tiwary (72) and Vikalp Tiwari (69) put on 93 for the fifth wicket, on a pitch with more life than the one used in the previous match.
Hyderabad hit back again and this time Captain Chama Milind trapped Tiwary LBW and off-spinner Ruthik Mende bowled Tiwari, making it 216/6 in 62.4 overs.
Holding on, Jayant Yadav (36 not out off 108 balls) and Prateek Yadav (27) added 48 for the seventh wicket, before Rakshann dismissed Prateek.
Rakshann finished with 2/34 and Anikethreddy 2/59. Jayant Yadav will resume on day two with the lower order, and Hyderabad will aim for a quick finish to keep the total near 300.
The match is scheduled to run from 2 to 5 November.