Rest of India 214 & 30/2 (Kishan 5, Patidar 2) need 331 more runs to beat Vidarbha 342 & 232 (Mokhade 37, Wadkar 36, Nalkande 39, Kamboj 4-34)**
Vidarbha put themselves in the driver’s seat for Irani Cup glory after a gritty lower-order fightback helped them post a challenging 361-run target for Rest of India. The bowlers then made early inroads, reducing ROI to 30 for 2 at stumps.
Vidarbha’s Lower Order Turns the Tide
Resuming at 96 for 2, Vidarbha’s top order faltered against a fiery spell from Anshul Kamboj and Saransh Jain, slipping to 105 for 5. However, the lower-middle order rose to the occasion.
Captain Akshay Wadkar (36), Harsh Dubey (29), and Darshan Nalkande (39) provided valuable runs to lift Vidarbha to 232, setting up a strong lead.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 80-𝒐𝒅𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘.
Kamboj was the standout performer for Rest of India, taking 4 for 34 in a destructive 12-over spell. He dismissed Vidarbha’s key batters — Dhruv Shorey (lbw), Yash Rathod (caught behind), and Wadkar (caught by Ishan Kishan) — all with precise movement and smart variations.
Early Wickets Dent ROI’s Chase
Chasing 361 under fading light, Rest of India’s top order stumbled. Aditya Thakare bowled Aryan Juyal with a beauty that sent the off-stump cartwheeling, while Harsh Dubey trapped Abhimanyu Easwaran lbw — a decision unsuccessfully reviewed by the batter.
At the end of the day, Ishan Kishan (5)* and Rajat Patidar (2)* held the fort, with Rest of India still needing 331 runs and eight wickets remaining.
“𝑽𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 — 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘-𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚,” 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒈𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.
With the lead already towering and their bowlers in rhythm, Vidarbha are closing in on what could be their third Irani Cup title in the last decade, having lifted the trophy in 2017–18 and 2018–19.
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