HYDERABAD: Faced with a must-win situation to retain their place in the Elite Group, Hyderabad surrendered meekly as they suffered their sixth straight loss to Delhi in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match here on Friday.
A career-best seven-wicket haul by medium-pacer Harshit Rana saw Delhi walk away with a nine-wicket win, their second consecutive victory after beating Mumbai by eight wickets in the last match.
Hyderabad finished at the bottom of the table with just one point from seven games and were relegated to Plate Group for the next season. This is the third time that Hyderabad are relegated to Plate Group. According to HCA statistician Mir Sami Ali, Hyderabad had been relegated to the Plate Group in the 2009-10 season and then suffered humiliation again in the 2019-20 season.
Delhi, who made a dramatic recovery after a poor start to the season, finished sixth, ahead of Assam, with 17 points.
Brief scores: Hyderabad 355 &124 in 37. 4 overs (K Rohith Rayudu 32; Harshith Rana 7/ 45) lost to Delhi 433 & 47/1 (Dhruv Shorey 23 not out)