Vidarbha Vs Maharashtra: 1st Innings Report
In a stupendous display of pure cricketing genius, the Vidarbha batsmen took on Maharashtra and posted a massive total of 380 for 3 in their 50 overs. The explosive batting from Karun Nair supported by corresponding material from Dhruv Shorey and Yash Rathod truly left the Maharashtra bowlers in disarray.
To start off, Indian domestic cricketer Dhruv Shorey strode to the crease and took a cue from Dedeck to botch it for 114 runs in 120 balls. His innings was interspersed with 14 fours; a die-hard combination of classical shots and calculated risks. The partnership with Yash Rathod was most significant in threatening to take the score to 224 before Rathod lost his wicket, being caught after an explosive knock in itself of 116 from just 101 deliveries, adorned with 14 boundaries and one six, indicating his thirst for blood from the first ball itself.
But the highlight of the innings had to be Karun Nair. The captain led from the front, using the long handle against the Maharashtra bowling attack and remained there, on a wracking 88. What made it even more special was that he scored at lightning speed – 88 off 44 balls, with a strike rate of 200
. He struck 9 fours and 5 sixes, and all these were in blatant recognition of his intention to not just up the ante but tear apart the enemy bowling into shreds. His form and confidence made it look simple for him; he neither struggled for the ones nor picked the twos on the ground despite solid cover and even aimed to clear the ropes at times, showing off skill set combined with ease under pressure.
Jitesh Sharma’s quickfire 51 off 33 balls was another important contribution, although his role was stunted by Mukesh Choudhary’s short-lived appearance. With the last 10 overs producing a run riot, that innings complemented by the ascendancy. Shubham Dubey, however, had an unbroken 5 runs off 2 deliveries at number 5, taking sure to finish the innings with a flourish.
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The bowlers from Maharashtra had a tough time stopping the onslaught from Vidarbha. With figures reading 2 for 80, Mukesh Choudhary was the best of the bowlers, however with extremely expensive economy rates. Others, including Rajneesh Gurbani, Pradeep Dadhe, and Satyajeet Bachhav were made to look ordinary; however, Bachhav managed to dismiss Rathod, albeit it was a brief respite for his team.
Wickets were not very frequent but good partnerships were. A full-fledged 224 runs stand for the first wicket with Shorey and Rathod laid the foundation for a solid batting effort. The rest of the partnerships added to the pain of Maharashtra, Nair and Sharma linking for 93 runs for the third wicket and finally, an unbroken 42-runs stand for the fourth wicket between Nair and Dubey.
