Mumbai stumble early in chase of 406 vs Vidarbha
A resolute Vidarbha reduced Mumbai to 83/3 in their second innings at the close of Day 4 on Thursday, and the defending champions now need a further 323 to win the semifinal match on the fifth and final day.
Yash Rathod’s 151 (252 balls) and a dogged half-century from skipper Akshay Wadkar (52 off 202 balls) took Vidarbha to 292 all out after resuming the day at 147/4.
Having already amassed a huge lead of 113 runs in the first essay, Vidarbha were able to set a huge target of 406. But Mumbai’s reply did not inspire much confidence.
Ayush Mhatre (18), Siddhesh Lad (2) and Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane (12) perished against spin bowling as Vidarbha tightened the screws on the visitors here at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha, setting themselves up to avenge their loss in the Ranji Trophy final last season.
Akash Anand, whose 106 was the only bright spot for Mumbai in the first innings, once again made a fine effort making 27 not out off 92 balls with one four.
At the other end, Shivam Dube was batting on 12. Mumbai are pinning their hopes on the likes of India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian and Shams Mulani to produce a rearguard on the final day. But the task would not be easy given the way spinners prised out three wickets to have fallen
in the final session.
Gujarat on brink
Ahmedabad: A resilient 72-run unbroken partnership for the eighth wicket between Jaymeet Patel and Siddharth Desai following a commanding 148 from opener Priyank Panchal kept Gujarat on the brink of a third Ranji Trophy final as they finished Day 4 at 429/7 in response to Kerala’s 457 after penultimate day’s play. Jaymeet, displaying immense patience and temperament, remained unbeaten on 74 from 161 deliveries, curbing his natural strokeplay.
His innings, which included just two boundaries, exemplified his determination to grind out a crucial innings under pressure.
Brief scores: Vidarbha: 383 & 292 in 110.1 overs (Rathod 151, Wadkar 52; Mulani 6/85, Kotian 3/81) vs Mumbai: 270 & 83/3 in 31 overs (Anand 27*; Dubey 2/26, Rekhade 1/16); Kerala: 457 all out vs Gujarat: 429/7 in 154 overs (Panchal 148, Patel 74*, Desai 73; Saxena 4/137).
