Vaibhav Tripathi in Nagpur
Yash Thakur’s hostile spell of fast bowling helped Vidarbha bowl out Rest of India for 214 in the first session on Day 3 of the Irani Cup match. Only a session-and-a-half was possible after that due to bad light, with the hosts ending the day at 96/2, taking a lead of 224 runs.
Rest of India started the day at 142/5. Aditya Thakare, bowling over the wicket, trapped Manav Suthar in front of the stumps with the first delivery of the day to give his team an ideal start. The morning only got better, as within 16 overs, Vidarbha bowlers claimed the remaining wickets. Thakur was the wrecker-in-chief with the old ball.
Using his skiddy action to good effect, he took three wickets in the first session to complete a four-wicket haul. After bowling a barrage of bouncers to push Saransh Jain onto the back foot, Thakur bluffed him with a yorker.
Akash Deep came in and struck two boundaries off Thakur. However, the right-arm pacer banged one in short in the same over to dismiss him.
Running out of partners, Rajat Patidar began to take risks in an attempt to reduce the deficit. In doing so, he reached his fifty. Harsh Dubey forced him into playing a false shot, ending his stay at the crease. Thakur fittingly wrapped up the innings with the wicket of Gurnoor Brar, again using a short-pitched delivery.
As in the first innings, Vidarbha started well, with openers Atharva Taide and Aman Mokhade adding 42 runs for the first wicket. They negotiated Akash Deep’s opening spell and looked comfortable against Jain.
Taide, who had dominated Suthar in the first innings, went after the left-arm spinner again but lost his wicket attempting a big shot. Rough patches on the pitch kept the spinners interested throughout the day. The odd ball turned sharply. At times, Mokhade and Dhruv Shorey were beaten by spin, but overall they looked comfortable.
Patidar brought on Gurnoor, and the tall right-arm pacer made an immediate impact. Bowling around the wicket, Gurnoor bounced out Mokhade. Extra pace and bounce undid the 24-year-old opener. Taking a cue from Thakur’s success earlier in the day, Gurnoor continued bowling short. His plan was to bowl into the body.
From the other end, Jain kept changing angles in search of a breakthrough, but Shorey and Danish Malewar were up to the task. Only one over was bowled after the tea break, as bad light brought an early end to the day’s play.
Having already secured a substantial lead on a pitch that is deteriorating, the defending Ranji Trophy champions will be looking to set a big target for the Rest of India to chase.
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