NAGPUR: As the first session neared the end, the Vidarbha camp was all assured of a victory and a happy lunch. One hoped that Sanjay R, tempted by the 100-run mark, would hit big to get quick runs. It was wishful thinking though. The opener, like always, shunned flamboyance, stuck to his gameplan and guided Vidarbha to a seven-wicket win over Services on Monday.
The big hits came from Shubham Dubey. After a straight six off left-arm spinner Arjun Sharma, Dubey swept the next one to seal the victory at VCA’s Civil Lines Stadium. At the other end, Sanjay showed his worth with a solid unbeaten 84 (180b;9x4).
Starting the day with 133 needed for the win, Vidarbha lost Faiz Fazal (26;47b;3x4) and Dhruv Shorey (9;20b;1x4) early. While Faiz was cleaned up by a Varun Choudhary delivery that came in after pitching, Shorey was bowled by Poonam Poonia.
The Services bowlers, having tasted blood, looked to inflict more damage. But Sanjay in company with Karun Nair kept them at bay for the next 24.5 overs.
The two kept the scoreboard ticking while hitting occasional boundaries. Sanjay completed his 50 as the third wicket partnership took Vidarbha closer to the target.
Sanjay moved for 64 to 76 hitting spinners to three fours — a sweep and two step-out drives, one through the covers another to the straight boundary.
With Nair too scoring freely, Vidarbha moved to 149 for 2, just 29 short of the 178-run target. Nair, looking to wrap up things, charged down to offie Pulkit Narang only to mistime the shot and Aanshul Gupta took the catch at short cover. With the dismissal, umpires called for lunch.
Thereafter, Sanjay and Dubey (18;21b;2x6) took Vidarbha to victory within a few overs in the second session. Vidarbha next play against minnows Manipur from January 12 at the ADCA ground in Gujarat.
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