NAGPUR: Sanjog Bhagwat, Gaurav Farde and Rajsingh Chauhan fired timely salvos to tilt the balance of the match in Vidarbha’s favour on Day-2 of Cooch Behar Trophy match at Kalamna on Sunday. Andhra were cruising in response to Vidarbha’s 308 but they faltered when Farde provided Vidarbha a breakthrough.
Andhra started at the overnight score of 13 for 2. Opener K Revanth Reddy (118 off 256b) and S Venkata Rahul (92 off 259b) weaved a 198 runs partnership for the third wicket. They made Vidarbha bowlers look clueless during their 78.3 overs stay in the middle.
Farde broke their partnership, and then Bhagwat and Chauhan joined to take 6 wickets for just 40 runs. From 203 for 2, Bhagwat (3-49), Farde (2-56) and Chauhan (4-37), pulled Andhra down to 258 for 9 at stumps. Andhra need 50 runs to secure a lead with a wicket in hand.
After spending close to 6 hours on the field without any wicket, Farde took a good catch of Rahul on his own bowling to break the big union. The departure of Rahul in the 81st over triggered a collapse over the next 11 overs.
Bhagwat got the prized wicket of Reddy, while Chauhan, who had taken both the wickets that fell on Saturday, added two more to his tally on Sunday. Reddy was the last man to fall on the second day.
However, the Vidarbha think-tank did not use their in-form left-arm pacer Chauhan to better effect, when Reddy and Rahul were batting at their best.
Brief Scores: Vidarbha 308 vs Andhra (overnight 13-2) 258 for 9 in 96 overs (K Revanth 118, S Venkata 92; Rajsingh Chavhan 4-37, Sanyog Bhagwat 3-49, Gaurav Farde 2-56)
