Vidarbha players celebrate a wicket during the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Madhya Pradesh in Nagpur on March 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Vidarbha took command of their Ranji Trophy semifinal with the key wicket of Yash Dubey (94) late on day four as they inched closer to a thrilling victory over Madhya Pradesh in Nagpur on March 5.

Heading into the final day on March 6, hosts Vidarbha are a mere four wickets away from setting up a date in the summit clash with Mumbai, while Madhya Pradesh, who still need 93 runs to win, will hope their tailenders can produce an inspired fightback.

The game tilted in favour of hosts Vidarbha in the penultimate over of the day when Aditya Sarwate (2/51) had Dubey caught by Aman Mokhade, dealing a body blow to Madhya Pradesh’s hopes of making it to their second final in three years.

Chasing 321 to win, Madhya Pradesh reached 228 for six at stumps on the fourth day with their last recognised batter in Saransh Jain (16 not out) joined by Kumar Kartikeya, requiring a huge effort with the bat with not much left in the tank.

To his credit, Dubey battled hard for Madhya Pradesh with a fine knock even as wickets kept tumbling at the other end. The right-handed batter showed grit and composure in a tough chase with a long haul, consuming 212 balls to get his 94 runs with 10 fours.

Dubey forged a crucial 106-run stand for the second wicket with Harsh Gawali (67 from 80 balls, 11x4s), but once the pair was separated, Vidarbha kept making regular inroads to leave Madhya Pradesh in trouble.

Madhya Pradesh lost the first-innings’ centurion Himanshu Mantri for a mere eight in the second essay, but it was the failure of their middle-order trio of Sagar Solanki (12), Shubham Sharma (6) and Venkatesh Iyer (19) which hurt the visitors the most.

Akshay Wakhare was the star for Vidarbha accounting for these three batters to bring his side back into the contest, while Sarwate’s late strike to dismiss the dangerous Dubey put the two-time winners in the pole position.

The day, however, began with Vidarbha needing as many runs possible to set a big target for MP. From 343 for six, the hosts managed 402 all-out with 59 runs coming for the last four wicket, thus setting up a target of 321 runs for the visitors to win here at the VCA Ground.

Yash Rathod brought up his century on the fourth day and finished with a high score of 141 off 200 balls, hitting 18 fours and two sixes in the process to lead the way.

Rathod’s late surge was crucial in dragging Vidarbha as far as 402 in their second innings, which was certainly an improved performance from their first innings wherein they were bowled out for 170.

For MP, Anubhav Agarwal returned 5/92.

Madhya Pradesh had taken a lead of 82 runs in the first innings as they had responded with 252.

Brief scores:

Vidarbha 170 & 402 in 101.3 overs (Aman Mokhade 59, Yash Rathod 141, Akshay Wadkar 77; Anubhav Agarwal 5/92) lead Madhya Pradesh 252 and 228/6 in 71 overs (Yash Dubey 94, Harsh Gawali 67; Aditya Sarwate 2/51, Akshay Wakhare 3/38) by 93 runs.

Vidarbha’s Yash Rathod plays in action during the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Madhya Pradesh in Nagpur.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

A spunky unbeaten 97 by Yash Rathod helped Vidarbha script a superb fightback and reach 343 for six in their second innings against Madhya Pradesh on the third day of their Ranji Trophy semifinal in Nagpur on March 4.

Rathod, who faced 165 balls, received excellent support from his captain Akshay Wadkar (77, 139b) and the pair added 158 runs for the stubborn sixth wicket stand as the hosts recovered from a shaky 161 for five.

Vidarbha, now, lead by a handy 261 runs.

The first hint of resistance came when Dhruv Shorey (40, 65b) and Aman Mokhade (59, 100b) made 84 runs for the third wicket after Vidarbha lost nightwatchman Akshay Wakhare in the second over of the day after resuming from 13 for one.

However, left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya broke the alliance when he induced an edge from Shorey to press Himanshu Mantri into action behind the stumps.

Vidarbha were 90 for three then, and from there they lost Mokhade and Karun Nair (38) to be at 161 for five and a mere 79 runs ahead.

But Rathod, who is playing in only his seventh First-Class game, and Wadkar built a wall against the waves of MP attack.

The pitch too seemed to have eased out a lot more compared to the first two days, with the bounce getting low and slow.

Both Rathod and Wadkar exploited the conditions to the hilt to pile runs without much alarm as MP bowlers looked ragged.

However, Wadkar fell towards the end of the day to pacer Anubhav Agarwal. Wadkar’s loose drive away from the body was taken at second slip by a diving substitute fielder Sumit Kushwah.

Madhya Pradesh Avesh Khan celebrates a wicket during the Ranji Trophy semifinal match against Vidarbha in Nagpur on March 2, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Avesh Khan-led Madhya Pradesh pace bowling unit hit right lengths on a pitch that offered enough carry to bowl out Vidarbha for a meagre 170 on day one to gain control of their Ranji Trophy semifinal match in Nagpur on March 2.

Avesh (4/49) was the pick of MP bowlers, while receiving good support from Kulwant Khejroliya (2/38) and Venkatesh Iyer (2/28).

Madhya Pradesh reached 47 for one in their first innings at close, and trail by 123 runs.

The VCA Stadium deck wore such fine green tinge as MP employed spin for just 2.4 overs in a total of 56.4 overs they bowled on the day.

Left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya, who dismissed last man Umesh Yadav, did the spinner’s duty for a brief period.

Other spinners in their ranks like offie Saransh Jain remained spectators of the proceedings.

Vidarbha’s feeble fight came through Karun Nair, who made 63 (105 balls, 9×4).

India pacer Avesh gave MP a fine start to the match when he uprooted the stumps of opener Dhruv Shorey (13).

Vidarbha lost wickets at regular intervals from that point and their biggest partnership was a 36 between Atharva Taide (39, 63b, 8×4) and Aman Mokhade (13, 75 balls) for the second wicket.

It came in almost 16 overs but the home side failed to capitalise on all the hard work.

Taide, who made a gritty hundred against Karnataka in the quarterfinals, snicked Iyer to stumper Himanshu Mantri who took a lovely tumbling catch behind the first slip.

It brought Karun, Vidarbha’s highest run-getter so far this season, to the middle and he played a fine innings filled with those typical drives and cuts.

But the right-hander did not find support from the other end as Avesh dismissed a stubborn Mokhade.

The hosts soon lost Yash Rathod, bowled by Iyer, and skipper Akshay Wadkar in the space of five runs to slip to 106 for five.

The catch Yash Dubey took at gully off pacer Khejroliya to oust Wadkar was a stunning one. He made a low-dive to his left to pouch a screamer as Wadkar tried to steer the ball from outside the off-stump.

Vidarbha’s hopes of reaching at least 200 was dashed when Karun dragged a Khejroliya delivery to his stumps while attempting a pull.

However, the Vidarbha bowlers were not as accurate as their MP counterparts as the visiting batters saw off the day without any alarm.

The lone jarring note was the dismissal of Dubey who feathered an edge off Umesh to Wadkar behind the stumps.