Leading from the front in the precarious situation, Mohammad Faiz scored an unbeaten century as Vidarbha scored 237 for five wickets against Maharashtra on the first day of the quarterfinal of Cooch Behar Trophy at DY Patil Academy in Pune on Saturday.
At stumps, Faiz was going solid on (120, 243, 12x4, 1x6) in the company of Dharmendra Thakur (49, 183, 6x4). Earlier Vidarbha won the toss and elected to bat first. They had a bad start as opener Neel Athaley returned to the pavilion on duck in the very first over. Tushar Suryavanshi (4) soon followed him as he was caught by wicketkeeper Sahil Autade off Prathmaeh Gawade with 14 runs on board. Vidarbha lost third wicket in the form of in form batsman Danish Malewar (1) who gave the catch to SS Dhas off Yash Borkar. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rohit Binkar (26, 49b, 4x4) had a good start but he failed to convert it into a big knock. Thus after osing four wickets for 50 runs it was Mohammad Faiz who steadied the innings and brought Vidarbha on track. Playing cautiously initially, Faiz started to play the short once he settled. Faiz and Jagjot Singh made 62 run partnership for fifth wicket. When Singh looked settled he was dismissed by Gawade. After his departure, Dharmendra Thakur gave good company to the captain. Frustrating Maharashtra bowlers they made an unbroken partnership of 125 runs. In the process, Faiz completed his century.
For Maharashtra, Prathmesh Gawade claimed three wickets for 73 runs while Yash Borkar got two for 51.
Brief scores
Vidarbha 1st innings: 237 for 5 in 90 overs (Mohammad Faiz (120*, Dharmendra Thakur 49*, Jagjot Singh 31, Rohit Binkar 26, Prathmesh Gawade 3 for 73, Yash Borkar 2 for 51) vs Maharashtra