NAGPUR: The only time Maharashtra wore a smile was when Rahul Tripathi's bat was testing Vidarbha. It was for about the initial 90 minutes of the match. Post that, the story was all about Vidarbha piling on the agony ball-by-ball till they stunned the experienced Maharashtra with their commanding batting display on Tuesday.
A compelling batting display from Atharva Taide (56; 38b, 6x4, 1x6) and skipper Akshay Wadkar (58 n.o; 47b, 7x4) showed why Vidarbha cannot be taken lightly even in the shortest format. They raised the bar and scripted entry into the quarterfinals of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with a 7-wicket win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi. They will face Rajasthan on Thursday.
Though Maharashtra bowling was more experienced than Vidarbha, southpaw Taide left them clueless with his frequent inside-out drives. From the other end, Wadkar, playing a captain's knock, was a perfect mix of caution and aggression. They weaved 96 runs off 69 balls to march into the next match with confidence.
The left-right combo of Wadkar-Taide collected more singles and doubles that made the difference in a decent chase that was concluded by a destructive cameo from middle-order specialist Jitesh Sharma. He arrived when 30 runs were needed off 25 balls and teed off with a boundary. His three consecutive sixes and a four in the 18th over from leg-spinner Sunil Yadav closed the deal.
After Maharashtra batsmen managed just 36 runs in their last 5 overs, the onus was on their left-arm spinners Satyajeet Bachhav (0-20) and Azim Kazi (1-29). However, Wadkar ensured he sees Bachhav off, to further blunt the rival's hopes. As Bachhav went wicket-less and Kazi did not trouble much, Vidarbha clobbered runs without much fuss.
Had Vidarbha converted their chances in the field, Maharashtra could have been in even more trouble after they were put into bat. Tripathi (66), the major contributor, got two chances - a drop catch and a stumping off Akshay Wakhare - which proved crucial.
Vidarbha's ambidextrous Akshay Karnewar (2-25) and pacer Yash Thakur (3-17) were on the money and set the tone of the match. Karnewar, who bowled with both the arms, came back strongly after conceding 10 runs in his first over.
Maharashtra lost the plot when Wakhare and Karnewar bowled four overs - 9th to 12th - between them without conceding a boundary. Also, Maharashtra lost well-set Yash Nahar (29) and the big fish Kedar Jadhav (6) to Karnewar in the same span. The 13th over from Lalit Yadav also saw no hit to the fence. Maharashtra were 77-1 after eight overs but could add only 80 runs in the last 12.
