NAGPUR: Punjab had pushed Vidarbha to the wall after restricting them to 238. It was a gettable score looking at their batting prowess. They even got their mainstay Aryan Yadav (87; 137b, 9x4) going. But, when Vidarbha allrounder Ashit Singh caught Yadav's partner - Uday Saharan - plumb in the 25th over, Punjab lost the plot. Vidarbha kept making inroads and won the Vinoo Mankad Trophy final by 32 runs on Sunday.
Vidarbha bundled out Punjab for 206 in 47.4 overs to grab the trophy at Trivandrun. This was Vidarbha's second Vinoo Mankad Trophy title. They were champions in 2018-19. This is Vidarbha's tenth BCCI title including two Irani Trophy crowns from 2016-17.
Punjab's no. 3 Yadav was going strong when he had Sharan (24 off 35) in company. They added 65 runs for the third wicket after Punjab were 26 for 2. Yadav fell short of partners after Pratham Maheswari, Dharmendra Thakur, Jagjot Sasan, and Gauran Farde fired on all cylinders to wipe out the Punjab line-up.
Earlier, Vidarbha top-4 made key contributions. Openers Tushar Suryawanshi (40 off 63) and Neel Athaley (52 off 87), no. 3 skipper Mohd. Faiz (29 off 26), and no. 4 Danish Malewar (59 off 57) ensured Vidarbha posted a respectable total.
The opening stand of 77 in 129 balls was a bit slow but ensured Vidarbha remained in control by not coming under pressure by losing wickets. Later, Athaley and skipper added 48 off just 44 balls in an attempt to raise the run rate.
Towards the end, Malewar and Jagjot contributed 41 off 40 balls for the fifth wicket to help Vidarbha go beyond the 200-run mark.
BRIEF SCORES:
Vidarbha 238 for 7 in 50 overs (Tushar Suryawanshi 40, Neel Athaley 52, Danish Malewar 59; Uday Saharan 3-54) beat Punjab 206 all out in 47.4 overs (Aryan Yadav 87, Uday Saharan 24; Pratham Maheshwari 3-24, Jagjot Sasan 2-56, Dharmendra Thakur 2-31) by 32 runs
