NEW DELHI: Yash Dhull found allies in all-rounders Saransh Jain and Manav Suthar. But the Delhi youngster’s counterattack only delayed the inevitable as a well-oiled Vidarbha unit maintained its supremacy in the tie by winning its third Irani Cup title.
With all five bowlers chipping in with crucial breakthroughs—Yash Thakur’s wickets off successive balls, including the prized scalp of Dhull (92, 117b, 8x4, 1x6) that sparked an exchange of words between the duo, being the highlight—Vidarbha bowled Rest of India out for 267, three minutes before the tea break on Sunday, the fifth and final day of the annual fixture between the defending Ranji Trophy champion and Rest of India.
The 93-run victory maintained Vidarbha’s streak of winning the Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup every time it has won the inter-state championship.
Rest of India captain Rajat Patidar and Ishan Kishan started the day with the team reeling at 30 for two, and the 361-run target being a distant dream. An hour into the day’s proceedings, however, the writing was on the wall, with Vidarbha reducing Rest of India’s fancied line-up to 80 for five.
While Patidar turned his bat around to offer a regulation return catch to the lanky Aditya Thakare in the fifth over of the morning, Ruturaj Gaikwad returned to the hut with his second single-digit score in the match, poking at one in the channel off pacer Darshan Nalkande. Kishan then holed out in the deep off Harsh Dubey’s spin, and Vidarbha was sensing a comfortable win.
Dhull then started a counterattack with the left-handed Jain for company. Dhull’s cut shots off the pacers and spinners alike were a treat to watch, until Jain missed one that turned into him off Parth Rekhade, the other left-arm spinner.
With Suthar continuing to bat effortlessly, Dhull started taking calculated risks, and with the ball becoming softer, it worked in his favour. Just when the partnership had crossed the three-digit mark and Dhull entered the nineties, he tried to upper cut a short one outside off for a six. But Atharva Taide, at deep third-man, ran a few steps to his right and judged the ball to perfection inches inside the rope to tilt the game in Vidarbha’s favour again. It was Taide who was again back in action—running backwards from the slip cordon—to catch a top-edge off last-man Gurnoor Brar and spark celebrations in the Vidarbha camp. Agencies
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