Patient knocks from Atharva Taide (109, 244b, 16x4, 1x6) and Yash Rathod (93, 157b, 12x4) put Vidarbha on top on the first day of its Ranji Trophy quarterfinal outing against Karnataka at VCA Stadium (Civil Lines) in Nagpur on Friday.
A 184-run second-wicket stand between Taide and Rathod laid the platform for Vidarbha to reach 261 for three.
Opener Taide stood like a rock to record his second century of the tournament. Taide was happy to bide his time, leaving balls outside off and defending all threats with a straight bat. He took an old-school approach to the long format - simply bat for time. The southpaw used timing and sharp footwork to put away the loose deliveries.
“The longer you bat, the better. This is the game plan of our entire team,” Taide said.
The 23-year-old was dismissed in the 81st over, trapped leg-before by left-arm spinner Hardik Raj. Taide received two lives, on 26 and 44, when V. Koushik and the slips cordon put down chances.
Rathod played with more freedom, especially when the spinners came on. It took a smart ploy to break the partnership. Pacer Vidwath Kaverappa stationed Nikin Jose at backward square-leg and bowled bouncers. Rathod fell for the trap, hooking one to Jose.
Taide, however, could not be lured in. “I was ready to take blows on my body, break my bones, fall down, but I was not ready to fall for the bouncer trap,” Taide said.
Karun Nair, who only recently shifted allegiance from Karnataka to Vidarbha, played a few pleasing cover drives in his unbeaten 30. Late in the day, Karun pushed hard to a length ball and lobbed it back to Kaushik. The fast bowler, moving to his left on the follow through, stuck his right hand out but could not hold on to the catch.
Only a few quick wickets in the first session on Saturday can keep Karnataka alive.
Ambidextrous Dheeraj catches eyeballs
Karnataka’s ambidextrous spinner Dheeraj Gowda in action. | Photo Credit: ASHWIN ACHAL
Karnataka unleashed a unique phenomenon in ambidextrous Dheeraj Gowda on the first day.
Dheeraj, making his First-Class debut, started by bowling right-arm off-spin to southpaws Taide and Rathod. Later, to right-handers Nair and Akshay Wadkar, the 17-year-old shifted to left-arm orthodox spin.
The teenager was proficient with both guards. Dheeraj went wicketless in his 14 overs on Friday, but certainly peaked interest with his rare skill.
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