NAGPUR: After firing on all cylinders so far in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), most Vidarbha batters had an off day on Monday. Skipper Atharva Taide took on the onus of seeing Vidarbha through against Pondicherry with a masterful knock at Mullanpur Stadium of Punjab Cricket Association (PCA).
Taide (97;58b;4x11;3x6) did the bulk of the scoring, chipping in with almost 55% of runs put in by the team. The knock saw Vidarbha post 177 for 7 in 20 overs, a target that proved too daunting for minnows Pondicherry, who were bundled out for just 74 in 15 overs.
After Taide’s show, Vidarbha pace attack led by Umesh Yadav joined the party. Yadav and Darshan Nalkande took two wickets each in their first two overs. Debutant left-arm medium pacer Dipesh Parwani and spinner Harsh Dubey too chipped in with two wickets.
It was Vidarbha’s fourth win in as many matches. Leading the Group D points table with 16 points, Vidarbha have one foot in the quarterfinals.
Put in to bat, Vidarbha’s innings started on a bad note with stars of the previous two matches — Dhruv Shorey (0) and Krun Nair (3) — back in the hut by third over with just 20 on the board.
Taide, who had scored a 50 earlier in the tournament, and Shubham Dubey were the only two batters able to score freely on a pitch where the ball gripped the surface and came off slow.
After the dismissals of Akshay Wadkar (23;19b;2x6) and Jitesh Sharma (5;11b), Shubham Dubey (23;12b;1x4;2x6) played another whirlwind cameo.
The Vidarbha skipper missed out on a deserving century going for an extra run. Taide, who scored at a strike rate of 167. 24, hit two boundaries in the 18th over and followed it up with a six in the next over.
At 96, looking good for a three-figure mark, Taide went for a second run, and fell short of the crease as Fabid Ahmed’s throw from deep midwicket hit the stumps. By then though, Taide had done his job.
Darshan Nalkande (13;6b;1x4;1x6) hit six and a four in the last over as Vidarbha finished on 177 for 1.
BRIEF SCORES
