NAGPUR: It would not have been a better day for Akshay Wakhare than his son Trijal's 2nd birthday to pick his 21st 5-wicket haul in First Class cricket on Wednesday. The off-spinner and his partner Aditya Sarwate picked up 5 wickets each and gobbled up the entire Railways batting order in no time. They took 9 wickets within a 16 overs span to give Vidarbha a crucial 52-run lead against Railways in the Ranji Trophy opener at Jamtha stadium.
Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal, the first innings centurion, batted with command to score an unbeaten 82 (108b; 8x4, 1x6) and took his side to a position from where they can dictate terms to Railways. Courtesy Faiz's 82, and his 97-run partnership with Atharva Taide (38), Vidarbha reached 161 for 2 at stumps on Day-2. The hosts are leading by 213 runs.
While left-arm spinner Aditya (19-6-53-5) continued his red-ball fairytale with another eye-catching performance, Akshay (20.2-5-60-5) showed why he is still among the best spinners in the business in the domestic circuit. If it was Karn Sharma of Railways who triggered the Vidarbha collapse on Tuesday, Akshay performed when all eyes were on him and turned the tables on Railways on Wednesday.
In response to Vidarbha's 213, the Railways were strongly placed at 129 for 1 with Vivek Singh (81) and Pratham Singh (33) playing comfortably. That is when Akshay bowled his stock delivery, which straightened and caught Pratham plumb in the 40th over. In the next 15.3 overs, Railways lost 8 wickets and were bowled out for 161.
Both the spinners were on the money and flummoxed batters with occasional sharp spin. When the batters went to play for spin, they kept it straighter and caught them plumb. There were 6 leg-before dismissals of which 4 fell to off-spinner Wakhare.
Brief Scores: Vidarbha 213 and 161 for 2 in 39 overs (Faiz Fazal 82 n.o) lead Railways 161 all out in 55.2 overs (Vivek Singh 81; Aditya Sarwate 5-53 and Akshay Wakhare 5-60) by 213 runs
