MANGALAGIRI (Andhra Pradesh): Vidarbha on Monday registered the second biggest margin victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament with a 167-run thumping of Manipur in their Plate group match.
Defending an imposing 223, Vidarbha shot out Manipur for 55 in 16.3 overs to secure the victory that gave a huge boost to their net run-rate (+4.537).
Vidarbha lead the Plate Group with 16 points, four more than Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya with three matches left.
Andhra hold the T20 record for the largest margin of victory, a 179-run win over Nagaland in the 2019 edition of the meet.
Atharva Taide (21-ball 46; 7x4, 2x6) gave Vidarbha a flying start even as they lost two wickets inside the Powerplay after opting to bat.
But it was the duo of Jitesh Sharma and Apoorv Wankhade who displayed some sensational power-hitting in the final six overs -- 105 runs from 35 balls -- in an unbroken fifth wicket partnership to prop the total to 222/4.
Sharma smashed five sixes and five fours in a 31-ball 71 not out, while Wankhade was even better, hammering six sixes and one boundary in his unbeaten 49 from 16 balls.
After the batters' onslaught, it was time for Vidarbha bowlers to join the party with the left-arm spin duo of Akshay Karnewar and Atharva Taide grabbing two wickets apiece without conceding a single run.
Karnewar bowled all his four overs maiden, while Taide also did not concede any run from his one over and also claimed two wickets.
Only two Manipur batters -- Karnajit Yumnam (18) and captain Narsingh Yadav (10) -- got to double digits.
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