NAGPUR: Left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate grabbed a match haul of 11 wickets as Vidarbha pipped Gujarat by 18 runs, defending 73 on the third day morning in a Ranji Trophy Group D match at Jamtha.
With this Vidarbha defended the lowest score -- 73 -- successfully in first-class cricket in India, bettering Bihar's 78 against Delhi in Jamshedpur way back in the 1948-49 season.
At a venue where India's opening Test against Australia is slated to be played in less than a month's time, the match witnessed 15 wickets tumbling on day one, followed by 16 on the next day.
The Ranji Trophy game was played on a side pitch, while the Test would be played on one of the centre strips.
Chasing a paltry 73, Gujarat resumed their second essay on six for one as they were shot out for 54 inside 31 overs on the third day morning with Sarwate once again running through their line-up with stunning figures of 15.3-6-17-6 to complement his first innings 5/64.
Sarwate, who returned with a career-best match haul of 11/81, was complemented well by another left-arm spinner in Harsh Dubey (9-1-11-3).
Siddharth Desai, who batted on No. 3, was the only Gujarat batter to reach a double-digit score (18) and was dismissed by a run-out.
Electing to bat, Vidarbha folded their first innings for 74 in 30.3 overs at the stroke of lunch on day one, with the Gujarat pace duo of Chintan Gaja and Tejas Patel grabbing five wickets each.
Gujarat notched 256 in their first innings taking a first innings lead of 182 runs.
Vidarbha put up a strong fight in their second essay with Jitesh Sharma leading the show with a 53-ball 69, while No 9 batter Nachiket Bhute also contributed a significant 42 off 66 balls.
Gujarat's Siddharth Desai, who also bowled left-arm orthodox spin, was their wrecker-in-chief as he returned with 6/74 to bundle out Vidarbha for 254 and a win seemed formality for the visitors with a small target of 73.
But Sarwate had other ideas as Gujarat batters fell like nine pins on an eventful third day morning as Vidarbha bagged six points from the match to move to joint-second place with Punjab.
Brief Scores
At Nagpur: Vidarbha 74 and 254. Gujarat 256 and 54; 33.3 overs (Siddharth Desai 18; Aditya Sarwate 6/17, Harsh Dubey 3/11). Vidarbha won by 18 runs. Points: Vidarbha 6, Gujarat 0.
