Nagpur, Dec 8
Vidarbha's young pacer Yash Thakur claimed a career-best five wicket haul as Vidarbha drubbed Himachal Pradesh by seven wickets in an Elite group A match of the Vijay Hazare One-Day Trophy at Dadoji Konddeo Stadium in Thane on Wednesday
The 22-year-old bowler snapped five wickets for 53, while Akshay Wakhare (2/51) and Darshan Nalkande (2/37) also chipped in with two wickets each as Vidarbha bundled out HP for 213 in 46 overs. In reply Vidarbha chased the target losing just three wickets in 46 overs thanks to Yash Rathod (76 *, 78b, 7x4, 1x6), opener Atharva Taide( 64, 59b, 5x4, 3x6) and Akshay Wadkar (44*, 59b, 4x4) who fashioned the victory with good batting displayed.
Earlier in the morning, Vidarbha won the toss and elected to field first. Their decision proved correct as they restricted Himachal on 213. Thakur gave the breakthrough to Vidarbha by removing opener S Arora ( 20) with 29 runs on board. Then another pacer Darshan Nalkande delivered two quick blows to the opponent dismissing
A Thakur and N Gangta on three runs each. After the departure of top-order batsman skipper Rishi Dhawan who was the top-scorer with 50-ball 61 in the company of A Vashisht (21) and A Kumar (17) helped Himachal to cross 200-run mark.
Vidarbha then returned to overhaul the victory target, reaching 216 for three in just 39.5 overs, riding on half-centuries from Atharva Taide (64) and Yash Rathod (76 not out).
In reply, Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal (23, 37, 2x4, 1x6) and Taide gave a good start to Vidarbha. They made 60 run partnership for first wicket and set the tone of the match. When faiz was looking side, he gave an edge to wicket keeper Arora off GS Singh . after skipper's departure another experienced batter Ganesh Satish (3) became second victim of Singh. But then Yash Rathod and Taide made 50 run partnership for third wicket. After departure of Taide Wadkar joined Rathod and punishing the rival bowlers they made an unbroken 91 run partnership for the fourth wicket to romp home the victory. Gurvinder Singh (2/39) and Mayank Dagar (1/48) were the only bowlers to get wickets for Himachal Pradesh.
Brief Scores:
Himachal Pradesh 213 all out in 46 overs (Rishi Dhawan 61; Yash Thakur 5/53) lost to Vidarbha 216 for 3 in 39.5 overs (Yash Rathod 76, Atharva Taide 64; Gurvinder Singh 2/39).