Ranji Trophy: Vidarbha in control after Fazal, Sanjay hundreds

Asked to bat first, Vidarbha, in a Ranji Trophy match against Bengal, rode on the good work of its openers — Sanjay Ramaswamy and Faiz Fazal — to add 259 runs for the first wicket and set itself to achieve a massive total.

Faiz Fazal relied on his timing and struck 22 boundaries all over the park in his 14th first class century.

Captain Faiz Fazal scored his third hundred in three consecutive matches and Sanjay Ramaswamy got his second of the season as Vidarbha put up 285 for one in its first innings in the Ranji Trophy Group D match against Bengal at the Bengal Cricket Academy (BCA) ground here on Thursday.

Asked to bat first, Vidarbha rode on the good work of its openers to add 259 runs for the first wicket and set itself to achieve a massive total.

The left-right combination of Fazal and Sanjay tried to negate the movement of the ball and survive the morning session. They maintained good rapport and ran well between the wickets to maintain a good run rate.

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Fazal relied on his timing and struck 22 boundaries all over the park in his 14th first class century (142, 232 balls). “It was a good pitch. The ball come on to the bat and I enjoyed playing my shots. Sanjay batted well. Both of us are in good touch and we laid the platform the team needed,” said Fazal.

Sanjay, who held the other end intact, played some fine shots on the off-side and straight down the ground.

Led by Ashok Dinda, the young Bengal pacers, including left-armer Kanishk Seth and debutant Ishan Porel, bowled decent lines. Dinda provided the breakthrough as the ball came in and trapped Fazal in front after the tea break.