NAGPUR: Posting 375 runs after being put into bat, Odisha must have thought they have it enough to take first innings lead. But Vidarbha's Satyam Bhoyar and Yash Rathod, by the end of Day-2, posted a strong reply at VCA Civil Lines on Monday.
Satyam (69 n.o; 106b, 8x4, 1x6) and Yash (63 n.o; 99b, 8x4) made the most of the batting-friendly conditions, where they eased past every query from visiting bowlers in the Col CK Nayudu Trophy match. They knitted an unbroken 133-run stand for the second wicket and took Vidarbha to 140 for 1 at stumps. The hosts are now trailing by 235 runs
Since Vidarbha are eyeing a win in this match, they need to knock off the Odisha total early and post a good lead to press for a result. Both Satyam and Yash played to the plan. They accumulated runs at 4 per over and created a good foundation for a desired outcome. The right-hander Satyam and southpaw Yash both compiled maximum scoring opportunities on the bowling of pacer Ashutosh Chhuria and spinner Biswajeet Mallick.
While Satyam struck two elegant on-drives off Ashutosh, Yash gathered five boundaries off him by clubbing his on-drive between two flicks and a cover drive. They collected 40 runs from 49 balls from the pacer's bowling. They did the same to Biswajeet by gathering 23 runs off his 18 balls to make the rivals rethink on their plans.
Earlier, Vidarbha pacers did a good job by conceding 94 runs and bundling Odisha out for 375. Odisha played 51 overs on the second day.
Vidarbha pacer Aditya Thakare (30-6-59-2), Darshan Nalkande (28-4-89-3) and Praful Hinge (26-5-77-2) took eight wickets between them. Aditya’s precision and economy was a treat to watch.
BRIEF SCORES: Odisha (overnight 281-4) 375 all out in 141 overs (Sandeep Pattanaik 131, Om 85, G Choudhary 45; Aditya Thakare 2-59, Darshan Nalkande 3-89, Praful Hinge 2-77) vs Vidarbha 140 for 1 in 35 overs (Satyam Bhoyar 69 n.o, Yash Rathod 63 n.o).
