NAGPUR: After the exit of Wasim Jaffer as professional, the onus of Vidarbha middle-order has been on the other professional - Ganesh Satish - to step-up when Vidarbha are in dire straits. Same was the case on Thursday.
Vidarbha, chasing at least a first-innings lead if not an outright victory to stay in contention for the knockouts, was boosted by Satish's presence in the middle after the departure of skipper Faiz Fazal and R Sanjay in the first seven overs. In no time after taking the guard, Satish, Vidarbha's mainstay, dispatched Maharashtra pacers on both sides of the wicket to script a comeback for his team at Sultanpur, Gurgaon.
The professional middle-order bat lifted Vidarbha from 18-2 by weaving a tenacious century, his 16th in his 100th First-Class match. Satish (146 n.o; 282b, 19x4, 1x6) with young left-hander Atharva Taide (68; 145b, 14x4) in company took Vidarbha to 270 for 3 at stumps on Day-1. It was Satish's 10th ton in the 58th match for Vidarbha.
Their left-right combo on the flat wicket became difficult to deal with for Maharashtra. Their deftness in gathering boundaries meant Maharashtra were not able to create enough pressure. The pair blunted bowlers during their 177-run union. When they joined hands, both were new to the crease. They took Vidarbha to 195 before Taide departed. Later, Satish and Akshay Wadkar (35 n.o off 76b) stood tall till the end.
The way Satish was connecting the ball, it was clear he was in the middle for an impactful innings. Both Taide and Wadkar, otherwise busy players, played second-fiddle to their senior partner.
The authority with which Satish, who accumulated 101 runs on the off, was bisecting the off-side forced Maharashtra in changing their plans. They placed seven fielders on the off to stop the run-flow. However, with last-match centurion Wadkar in the middle with Satish, the move did not fetch them a desired result.
Maharashtra's Mukesh Chaudhary got Faiz Fazal and R Sanjay's wicket, while senior spinner Satyajeet Bachhav got a well-set Taide stumped. However, both the bowlers and India under-19 spinner Vicky Ostwal could not find an answer to Satish's superior show.
Brief Scores: Vidarbha 1st innings: 270 for 3 in 90 overs (Ganesh Satish 146 n.o, Atharva Taide 68; Mukesh Choudhary 2-47) vs Maharashtra
