NAGPUR: The newly inculcated habit of not playing to the conditions has hurt Vidarbha more this season than any season before. Vidarbha's formula for success has always been having horses for courses. However, for new coach Sanjeev Sharma, that does not seem to be the go-to formula.
Vidarbha, on Tuesday, made the same mistake which they committed twice before, in the matches against Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh. The weather was conducive to seam bowling. There was a tinge of grass on the wicket, best-suited for three-pronged seam attack. But they not only fielded just two pacers but also opted to bat under slightly cloudy conditions against Gujarat at Jamtha.
The visiting Gujarat, on the other hand, read the wicket and conditions well and fielded three pacers. Their frontline seamers Chintan Gaja and Tejas Patel, taking 5 wickets each, exploited the conditions and bundled Vidarbha out for just 74 runs before lunch on Day-1 of the Ranji Trophy match. It is Vidarbha's lowest total at Jamtha stadium. Later, Gujarat knocked off Vidarbha's total and are leading by 114 runs.
In the post-lunch session, Vidarbha's Aditya Sarwate (17-5-50-3) did his best to keep the visitors in check. Gujarat found their way from the other end and reached 188 for 5 at stumps. Though the scorecard showed 15 wickets falling on Day-1, the last two sessions had only five Gujarat wickets falling.
Earlier in the morning, barring opener R Sanjay (33 off 61b) and No.7 Sarwate (17 off 45b), no batter came close to handling Gujarat pacers with confidence.
The way Gaja (5-31) and Patel (5-19) swung the ball and beat the bat often, reminded of the swing bowling Rajneesh Gurbani and Aditya Thakare, both who are missing from the squad, used to bowl in tandem. Gujarat pacers made the hosts dance to their tunes. There was frequent play-and-a-miss and the slip cordon always sensed a chance.
The way Vidarbha approached the match showed their lack of preparation. “Vidarbha team knew that there was grass on the wicket ever since they had their first practice session at Jamtha post their arrival from Chandigarh. Plus, the conditions on Tuesday were suitable for pace bowling. But, if you are predetermined to play three spinners, you will be forced to opt to bat and that is where we lost the plot,” said a former player.
Vidarbha are in a must-win situation. They still have a chance of qualifying for the knockouts. They needed to have a better plan in place. “Under Chandrakant Pandit, the team used to prepare for two days before the match. During those three years, Vidarbha never misread the wicket or conditions and found themselves wanting. This year, we have been caught on a sticky wicket thrice including this game and we have lost two games. If a team wants to hit a bull's eye, the coach plays an important role,” said a former player.
Brief scores: Vidarbha 74 all out in 30.3 overs (R Sanjay 33; Tejas Patel 5-19, Chintan Gaja 5-31) vs Gujarat 188 for 5 in 54 overs (Aarya Desai 88, B Merai 40; Aditya Sarwate 3-50)
