With the consistent Harsh Dubey, once again proving his worth, Himachal looked vulnerable at 191/6 but an unfinished 72-run stand for the seventh wicket between skipper Rishi Dhawan (47*) and Mukul Negi (38*) helped the visitors to share Day 1 honours.
Vidarbha made two changes in their playing XI from their previous match against Uttarakhand, bringing in Karun Nair and Nachiket Bhute in place of Aman Mokhade and Akshay Karnewar, respectively.
BRIEF SCORES
Himachal 1st innings 263/6 in 90 overs (Ekanta Sen 44, Rishi Dhawan 47 batting, M Negi 38 batting; Harsh Dubey 3/63, Akshay Wakhare 2/42) Vidarbha yet to bat
VCA felicitates Wakhare'
Earlier in the morning, before the start of the match, the VCA felicitated Wakhare for his outstanding contribution to Vidarbha. The 39-year-old, who made his first-class debut in 2006 vs Kerala, was presented a shawl and a silver salver by VCA president Justice Vinay M. Deshpande (former Judge of the Bombay High Court) in the presence of the two teams, the umpires and match referee Balmik Buch.
VCA vice-president, Dr Avinash Deshmuk,secretary Sanjay Badkas, joint secretary Chandrakant Manke and CADC chairman Prashant Vaidya were also present.