NAGPUR: Ganesh Satish's reaction to his double hundred gave a reflection of his current mindset. After square-cutting left-arm spinner Azim Kazi to a spectacular boundary to reach the 200-run mark, Satish celebrated just for a few seconds and was back to the grind against Maharashtra on Friday.
The Karnataka-born Satish has grown in stature as Vidarbha's most successful middle-order batsman. His marathon 275-run knock on Day-2 of the ongoing elite group 'G' Ranji Trophy match in Sultanpur, further stamped his authority.
The 33-year-old pulverized Maharashtra attack and went on to become Vidarbha's highest individual run-getter. Satish's knocked-off his own best score during a union of 288 runs with Akshay Wadkar (145 n.o) that helped Vidarbha post a mammoth 569 for 5 declared in the first innings. His previous best was 237 against Andhra in the 2019-20 season.
Satish's innings was a spectacle. The command with which he creamed with three-pronged spin attack of Satyajeet Bachhav, Vicky Ostwal and Azim Kazi was comprehensive. He played 482 balls by spending nearly 10 hours at the crease - an innings which was a perfect mix of unrelenting focus, crisp timing and solid discipline.
If Satish's proficiency became too tough to handle for Maharashtra, Wadkar rubbed salt on their wounds. They both hammered fifth boundaries between them despite Maharashtra going with 7-2 field on the off and consistently bowling to the field. Satish also sent five balls over the rope and 33 balls along the ground.
Wadkar, who batted for around eight hours, notched-up his seventh first class hundred. The wicketkeeper ensured that he kept playing second-fiddle as Satish was putting bowlers in their place. It was Wadkar's second consecutive century in as many innings this season.
Satish got out when he tried to up the ante as Vidarbha wanted to declare and put Maharashtra into bat in the last hour of the day. Vidarbha at least need three points from this match, if not an outright win, to stay in the contention for knockouts.
Maharashtra are trailing by 523 runs after finishing the day at 46 for 1.
Brief Scores: Vidarbha 569/5 declared (Ganesh Satish 275, Akshay Wadkar 145 not out, Mukesh Choudhary 3/101, Satyajeet Bachhav 2/134) versus Maharashtra 46/1. Maharashtra trail by 523 runs
