Vaibhav Tripathi in Nagpur
Anshul Kamboj’s incisive morning spell triggered a mini collapse, but resilient batting efforts from Akshay Wadkar and Darshan Nalkande helped Vidarbha set a target of 361 for Rest of India. The visitors ended Day 4 on 30/2. The late strikes have put the home team ahead at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur.
After Yash Thakur’s short-ball ploy stole the spotlight on Day 3, it was Kamboj who took centrestage in the first session of the penultimate day of the Irani Cup.
On an abrasive wicket, Kamboj kept things simple. With the old ball, it was important to target the stumps, and he did just that. In his first three overs, he struck three times to trigger give a scare to Vidarbha. With his second delivery of the day, Kamboj dismissed Danish Malewar. Initially given not out, Rest of India reviewed the decision successfully. In his next over, he tempted Yash Rathod into playing an expansive drive and had him caught behind. Dhruv Shorey was trapped in front.
While Kamboj was taking wickets from one end, Akash Deep complemented him by keeping things tight from the other. Both capped Indian pacers gave no respite to the Vidarbha batters.
Three quick wickets left Vidarbha relying on their lower middle-order. Captain Wadkar remained at the crease and showed how to counter reverse swing. He took long strides to defend, came out of his crease to negate the movement — everything he attempted worked effectively.
When the spinners came on, Harsh Dubey began playing his shots. With the seamers keeping things tight, Dubey was given the licence by his captain to attack the likes of Saransh Jain and Manav Suthar. He was particularly severe on the latter, hitting him for two sixes in his innings of 29. Wadkar, at the other end, was content to block and rotate the strike. He took no unnecessary risks.
The dangerous-looking partnership was broken by Gurnoor Brar, who dismissed Dubey. Just before lunch, things got worse for Vidarbha as Parth Rekhade offered a simple catch to Rajat Patidar at leg gully off Saransh’s bowling. Vidarbha lost five wickets in the first session, adding just 59 runs.
In the second session, Wadkar continued batting at the same tempo, focusing on singles and doubles. Boundary-hitting was left to Nalkande, who played a vital knock of 36. Given the new ball, Kamboj returned to remove Wadkar for his fourth wicket. There was a chance for Kamboj to complete his five-for, but Patidar opted for spin from both ends. The hosts were eventually bowled out for 232.
The run chase began with three boundaries in the opening over, but Aryan Juyal was soon castled, and Dubey then claimed the key wicket of Abhimanyu Easwaran to round off a brilliant day for Vidarbha. Rest of India will now be relying on their capped Indian stars — Patidar, Ishan Kishan, and Ruturaj Gaikwad — to make a match of this.
