Playing up to his reputations Jitesh Sharma and Apoorv Wankhede played swashbuckling knocks to propel Vidarbha into a huge 167 run victory over Manipur in ACA Stadium at Vijaywada on Monday.
This is Vidarbha's consecutive fourth victory. Vidarbha decided to bat first after winning the toss. Their batsmen sent inexperienced bowlers on a leather hunt and amassed 222 for four in 20 overs. First opener Atharva Taide smashed 21-ball 46 hitting seven boundaries and two sixes. Jitesh Sharma played explosive innings of 71 in 31 balls with the help of five fours and equal number of sixes. His partner from other end was equally dangerous as he hit 49 runs in just 16 balls. His knock was studded with six sixes and one boundary. Both made unbroken 105 run partnership for fifth wicket. Captain Akshay Wadkar (28), Shubham Dubey (18) were other scorers.
In reply while chasing the huge target, Manipur were bowled out for a paltry 55 in 16.3 overs. Only two batsmen including captain Narsingh Yadav (10) and Karanjit (18) managed to cross the double digits.
For Vidarbha, pacer Aditya Thakre (2 for 17), Akshay Karnewar (2 for 24) and Atharva Taide (2 for 0) shared two wickets between them. Vidarbha will play their last match against Sikkim on Tuesday.
Brief scores
Vidarbha: 222 for 4 in 20 overs (JM Sharma 71, Apoorva Wankhede 49, Atharva Taide 46, Kishna 2 for 29) beat Manipur: 55 for all out in 16.3 overs (Karanjit 18, Narsingh Yadav 10, Aditya Thakre 2 for 17, Akshay Karnewar 2 for 24, Atharva Taide 2 for 6).