NEW DELHI: Pacer Aditya Thakare secured his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket while Yash Rathod scored a half-century in the second innings as Vidarbha established a substantial 297-run lead against Tamil Nadu in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match in Nagpur on Monday.
Thakare’s impressive bowling performance, including four wickets on Sunday, restricted Tamil Nadu to 225 in 64.3 overs after Vidarbha scored 353 in their first innings.
Vidarbha, maintaining their unbeaten record this season, recovered from a slow start to reach 169 for 5 at stumps on day three, to take their overall lead to 297.
Rathod remained unbeaten on 55, partnering with Harsh Dubey who scored 29 not out.
Tamil Nadu’s struggles continued as they lost captain Sai Kishore early, adding just one run to his overnight score of six. Tail-ender Sonu Yadav’s responsible innings helped the team reach a respectable total before being the last wicket to fall.
Vidarbha, who topped their group with six wins and one draw, faced early setbacks losing three wickets for 61 runs.
Karun Nair contributed 29 runs before Rathod’s unbeaten half-century, his sixth in first-class cricket, steered the team to a safer position.
The 55-run partnership between Rathod and Dubey for the sixth wicket strengthened Vidarbha’s position heading into day four. Given Tamil Nadu’s strong batting lineup featuring Narayan Jagadeesan, Sai Sudharsan, and Vijay Shankar, Vidarbha might aim to extend their lead further.
Despite a promising start, Vidarbha lost openers Atharva Taide (19), Dhruv Shorey (20), and Danish Malewar (0) in quick succession. Left-arm spinner Sai Kishore claimed two of these wickets.
First innings centurion Karun Nair, who has been performing exceptionally in Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare tournaments, managed only 29 runs off 78 balls in the second innings.
The partnership between Rathod and Dubey proved crucial when Vidarbha were at 99/4, helping the team approach a psychological advantage of a 300-run lead.Vidarbha: 353 & 169 for 5 in 62 overs (Karun Nair 29, Yash Rathod 55 not out, Harsh Dubey 29 not out; Sai Kishore 2/47) vs Tamil Nadu: 225 all out in 64.3 overs (C Andre Siddharth 65; Pradosh Ranjan Paul 48, Sonu Yadav 32; Aditya Thakare 5/34, Yash Thakur 2/78). Vidarbha lead by 297 runs.
