Ranji Trophy: Vidarbha dominates Kerala
At stumps, Vidarbha ended up with a total of 431 for six for a mammoth lead of 501, leading to the final day of the match.
Published : Dec 10, 2017 18:15 IST
Vidarbha, firmly on the driver’s seat, continued to torment Kerala all through the fourth day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the Lalbhai Contractor stadium here on Sunday.
At stumps, Vidarbha ended up with a total of 431 for six for a mammoth lead of 501, leading to the final day of the match. The second essay of the side was laced with centuries by skipper Faiz Fazal and Apoorv Wankhade and equally impressive half-centuries by Wasim Jaffer (58) and Ganesh Satish (65).
Resuming at the overnight total of 71 for one, Vidarbha made swift progress through Fazal, who was severe with his treatment on the rival bowlers.
Along with night watchman Akshay Wakhare, Fazal added 72 runs this morning before Wakhare was finally snared by Jalaj Saxena for 30. However, Fazal soldiered on brilliantly and in the company of Wasim Jaffer, marched on to his fourth century (119 off 209 balls) of the season to get to the second spot in this year’s top scorers list behind Mayank Agarwal.
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Wasim Jaffer and Ganesh Satish went on to add 50 runs for the fourth wicket followed by a 135-run stand between Satish and Wankhade.
The 25-year-old Wankhade, who had scored only 92 runs in four matches this season, also utilised the opportunity as he batted superbly for his first century in the tournament in just 90 deliveries, before he was dismissed by Mohammed Azharuddeen off Akshay. Wankade’s 106 off 97 deliveries was embellished with six boundaries and five beyond it.
By the time of his departure, Vidarbha was well past the total of 400 but Fazal continued with the innings without providing Kerala the chance to bat again. Perhaps, his decision came about due to the groin injury suffered by paceman Lalit Yadav, thus leaving the side one bowler short.