Good morning.
This is day two and after Vidarbha dominating the first day of the Irani Cup tie against Rest of India, it would hope to continue the good work on Thursday too. The top-order was prolific, with Wasim Jaffer scoring an unbeaten century and Faiz Fazal and fellow opener Sanjay Ramaswamy also chipping in. Will Rest of India come out with some new tricks out of the bag?
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4.45 pm: End of the second day's play at the Jamtha, Nagpur. Vidarbha has dominated a listless Rest of India and has finished the day on a mammoth 598/3. Wasim Jaffer has batted the whole day and is unbeaten on 285 while Apoorv Wankhade is on 45. The Rest of India bowlers were sent on a leather hunt for the second consecutive day and was able to take only one wicket - of centurion Ganesh Satish. Wasim Jaffer leads the players out of the ground and not surprising, he is given a standing ovation.
4.35 pm: Vidarbha closes in on the 600-run mark. At the end of 178 overs, it is on 592/3. Jaffer closes in on a triple hundred too. He is on 285.
4.25 pm: Four overs to go in the day and Rest of India has taken the third new ball. Siddharth Kaul will bowl the first over with the new ball.
We have six more overs and 15 more minutes of regulation time left in the day.
4.14 pm: Wankhade gets into the groove. He was down the wicket in a flash and carts Nadeem straight over his head. What a shot! Vidarbha 578/3 after 174 overs.
4.05 pm: Yet another milestone for Wasim Jaffer. He now becomes the highest scorer in Irani Cup, surpassing Murali Vijay. He smacks three boundaries off Jayant Yadav to celebrate that feat. Vidarbha moves to 562/3 in 171 overs.
3.55 pm: At the end of 170 overs, Vidarbha closes in on the 550-run mark, it sits pretty and solid at 549/3. Wankhade is on 20 and Jaffer is on 261.
3.44 pm: At the end of 165 overs, Vidarbha 531/3 and Ashwin continues with his leg breaks. He unfortunately has had minimal success. He hasn't been among the wickets, well, neither has any Rest of India bowler, but he hasn't been able to stem the flow of runs too.
Jaffer is on course to break Murali Vijay's record of highest score in the Irani Cup. Vijay had scored 266 against Rajasthan in 2012.
3.30 pm: 250 for Wasim Jaffer . The swansong continues. He picks Siddharth Kaul in a flash and pulls him to the deep mid-wicket boundary. He has played 381 balls with 30 fours and 1 six.
3.28 pm: Wasim Jaffer closes in on another milestone, and why are we not surprised at this? He is on 248 off 380 balls as Vidarbha gets to 518/3.
Meanwhile, it looks like Ravichandran Ashwin has turned into a full-time leg spinner.
3.20 pm: At the end of 160 overs, Vidarbha 510/3. Wankhade is taking his time to set himself in. The third new ball is due for Rest of India.
3.11 pm: Ganesh Satish undone by the extra bounce as Siddharth Kaul gets his man. Satish departs for 120 off 280 deliveries and Vidarbha is now at 507/3. Apoorv Wankhade is the new man in.
3.03 pm: Kaul pitches one outside the off and it traps Satish on the pads. The ball does come in a bit, but not enough for the umpire to raise his finger. An appeal after a very long time for Rest of India - shows the dominance of the Vidarbha bastmen.
3.00 pm: It is the final session of play on the second day from the VCA Stadium. The five sessions in the match so far have all belonged to Vidarbha. It resumes at a mammoth 504/2 with Jaffer on 238 and Satish on 118 in the middle. Siddharth Kaul starts the proceedings after tea.
2.38 pm: With this boundary, Wasim Jaffer reaches to 237. He breaks 38-year-old record of Surinder Amarnath. In 1980, Amarnath slammed 235 against Rest of India - the highest score by a batsman.
2.14 pm: After 150 overs, Vidarbha is at 485-2. Wasim Jaffer going strong at 223.
Vidarbha's next batsman Apoorv Wankhade has been with his pads on for almost seven hours now. That's a glimpse of how solid the duo are at the crease.
1.57 pm: Karun Nair makes a bowling change. Gets a part-timer Ravikumar Samarth into the attack. Satish and Jaffer get a run each off Samarth. Vidarbha 473/2. Jaffer on 217 (334) and Satish on 108 (236) holding fort in classic style.
1.55 pm: That's a classic cover drive from Wasim Jaffer. He takes to the pitch of the ball and drives it neat through the covers and that's the 250-run partnership for the third wicket between Jaffer and Satish. Vidarbha moves to 471/2.
The third wicket partnership inches towards the 250-run mark. Satish and Jaffer have added 247 so far.
1.50 pm: A run-out scare for Wasim Jaffer but he is too quick and beats the direct hit easily. Vidarbha 462/2 in the 143rd over. For a moment, it looked like that was the only way the Rest of India would get a breakthrough.
1.39 pm: Ganesh Satish's turn to acknowledge the cheers. He gets to the pitch of the ball from Jayant Yadav and creams it to the mid-on boundary and reaches his three-figure mark in style. He is on 103 off 223 balls. He was caught off a no-ball yesterday and has made the most of his luck. Another top class innings from a Vidarbha batsman. It reaches 454/2 in 140 overs, as the players take a quick break. Meanwhile, Jayant Yadav also gets to a 100. He has leaked 106 runs in his 26 overs.
1.28 pm: At the end of 137 overs, Vidarbha is 444/2.
1.25 pm: 200 for Wasim Jaffer . There is no stopping this man. He motors along. It has been an excellent innings, played with immaculate composure and remarkable shot selection. A legend in Indian domestic cricket. His 8th first class double century. The sparse Nagpur crowd gives him a standing ovation and the Rest of India players stand and applaud. What an innings from this old warhorse!
1.13 pm: Both Jaffer and Satish close in on personal landmarks. While Jaffer is four runs away from his 200, Satish is six away from his century. Vidarbha 438/2 in the 134th over. The partnership is now worth 220. Meanwhile, Nadeem gets to a 100. 0/104 now in 28 overs.
1.02 pm: Jaffer moves into the 190s with a thunderous drive for four, bisecting the covers and the mid-off fielder. Saini pitches it a up and Jaffer pounces on the half chance in an instant. That was a classic cover drive. He is now on 192 off 293 balls.
12.53 pm: Ganesh Satish drives Nadeem through extra cover for a single and it is a 200-run partnership between Satish and Jaffer for the third wicket. Jaffer on 185 and Satish on 85. Jaffer has contributed 113 in the partnership while Satish has contributed 85. Vidarbha moves to 418/2 in 129 overs.
12.50 pm: The third-wicket partnership inches towards the 200 run mark as Vidarbha negotiates the first two overs after lunch well. Vidarbha 417/2.
Meanwhile, the Australian women have scored 287/9 in their 50 overs. Nicole Bolton top scored with 84 while Elysse Perry scored 70 off 70 balls. Shika Pandey was the pick of the bowlers for India returning with figures of 3/61 in her 10 overs. You can follow the action here .
This could be the last over before lunch. Siddarth Kaul to mostly finish off the first session.
11.57 am: Wasim Jaffer completes 18,000 first class runs. A bow to the master!
11.55 am: Another century. This time, it is from the bowler. Ashwin's figures now reads 35-1-100-1 as Vidarbha moves to 403/2. The partnership worth 185 now.
11.47 am: Around 13 minutes to go for lunch. Kaul is back into the attack.
11.46 am: 400-up for Vidarbha . Satish picks up a single by guiding the ball, off Ashwin, to the mid-on region for a single to bring up the landmark for Vidarbha. The partnership between Jaffer and Satish is worth 182.
11.44 am: Runs are coming thick and fast for Vidarbha. After a period in the morning where it took its time by playing maiden overs after maiden overs, it has been 20 overs since Rest of India bowled a maiden over. At the end of 122 overs, Vidarbha 396/2.
11.34 am: Easy pickings for Jaffer and Satish as they play Ashwin and Jayant confidently. They are rotating the strike rather quickly and the odd bad ball finds itself beyond the ropes too. At the end of 119 overs, Vidarbha 387/2.
11.25 am: Ashwin is back with his leg breaks. It doesn't yield any immediate results but has for sure kept the batsmen guessing.
11.17 am: Jaffer and Satish growing from strength to strength. The duo have now added 150 runs for the third wicket. Sathish leans forward and pushes Ashwin to the cover region for a couple of runs to bring up the landmark. Vidarbha 369/2. (Jaffer 153, Satish 68).
11.11 am: A single to midwicket, off Ashwin, brings up the 150 for Wasim Jaffer . The Vidarbha bench stands up and applauds and the batsman acknowledges the cheers. Jaffer has played 229 balls with one six and 20 fours.
11.09 am: At the end of 110 overs, Vidarbha 356/2 (Wasim jaffer 148*, Ganesh Sathish 60*). The duo have now added 138 runs for the third wicket.
11.06 am: Jaffer sends the ball to long on for a single, off Jayant Yadav, and it brings the 350 for Vidarbha.
10.56 am: Ravichandran Ashwin introduced into the attack. After beating Jaffer all ends up, the batsman expects the turn but the ball is a straighter one, the batsmen take three runs off Ashwin's first over of the day. Vidarbha 341/2.
10.54 am: A single from Satish , off Nadeem, gets him to a 50 .
10.50 am: Jaffer gets into the groove and times another one in the mid-wicket region and gets another boundary. 8 runs off Saini's over after the duo milked 16 off the previous over. Vidarbha 334/2. Wasim Jaffer on 137 and Ganesh Satish on 49 in the middle.
10.47 am: Another boundary. After a flurry of maiden overs, we now have a flurry of boundaries. Saini bowls a back of the length delivery and Jaffer gets his wrists into play and gets a boundary between the mid-wicket and mid-on region.
10.45 am: Satish gets into the act now. He times this one exceptionally well towards the mid-off region and gets a boundary. 16 runs off this over by Nadeem. Vidarbha 326/2 .
10.43 am: Jaffer reverse sweeps Nadeem fine, and gets a boundary. It also brings up the 100-run partnership for the third wicket .
10.40 am: Satish manages to break the shackles. He dances down the pitch to Nadeem and lofts it over long-off for a six. The ball comfortably clears the boundary ropes.
10.34 am: Yet another maiden over, from Nadeem. Vidarbha 306/2.
10.23 am: Jaffer stands tall and punches Nadeem through the covers for a couple of runs as Vidarbha crosses the 300-run mark. 301/2. The sweeper cover fielder does very well to save two runs for his team with a diving effort. The very next ball, Jaffer cuts it fine, rather chops it past the short third-man fielder for four runs. The old warhorse is looking solid, a good sign for Vidarbha. 306/2.
Nine overs for eight runs in the day so far. Our correspondent Amol Karhadkar adds: With an overcast sky, Karun Nair toom the new ball right away but RoI still waiting for the breakthrough. Siddharth Kaul and Navdeep Saini have stifled Wasim Jaffer and Ganesh Satish that in the eight overs so far, Vidarbha have managed to add just four singles, including a bye.
10.18 am: Finally a boundary. Not the ideal way Vidarbha would have liked but it wouldn't mind any bit. Sathish spots a tad short length delivery from Kaul and tries to cut but it is too close to his body and the ball takes the edge and flies between the slips and gully to the boundary. Vidarbha 297/2.
10.14 am: Ravichandran Ashwin, Karun Nair and Siddharth Kaul in a conference as Kaul gets ready to bowl. With too many dot balls played, can Rest of India sense a wicket here, considering the batsmen would be a tad running out of patience?
The players take a small breather. A mandate with the temperature soaring into the late 30s.
10.11 am: Nadeem starts off with a maiden over, something that has been the order of the day so far.
10.07 am: Spin from Rest of India. Shahbaz Nadeem into the attack. He has figures of 18-2-56-0.
10.01 am: Finally a run, through a bye but Vidarbha wouldn't mind that. It has been stagnant for too long.
Wishing Ganesh Satish a very Happy Birthday!
9.55 am: Rest of India is on a maiden over spree. At the end of 95 overs, Vidarbha 290/2. Four maiden overs out of the 5 bowled today.
9.50 am: The pressure of playing so many dot balls, 23 to be precise, looks to have got to Jaffer. He just mistimes one to mid on but lucky for him, the ball doesn't carry to Ashwin and Jaffer survives a minor scare.
9.45 am: The Vidarbha batsmen are taking their time. It is a good approach, early in the day, a new ball and a hint of movement. Back-to-back maiden overs from Kaul and Saini as Vidarbha is still on 290/2.
9.36 am: Navdeep Saini (15-3-46-0) shares the new ball with Kaul. He starts off well, with a maiden over.
9.35 am: Kaul starts off with a good over. Just the one run. Vidarbha 290/2.
9.30 am: Vidarbha all set to resume its innings from a healthy 289/2. Wasim Jaffer on 113 and Ganesh Satish on 29 are out in the middle. Satish will take the strike and Siddharth Kaul (14-2-44-0) will start the proceedings.
Karun Nair has opted to take the second new ball.
9.20 am: We are all set for play on day two at the Jamtha. The players are warming up.
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It was a masterclass from old warhorse Wasim Jaffer and his unbeaten century was the talk of the town. Click here to read what our correspondent, Amol Karhadkar, from Nagpur wrote about the 40-year-old.
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